The Return of the Cursed Gift
by Talkingbirdguy
Summary: Sequel to Curse of the Lucario. Jacob Simmons, son of Jason Simmons, is on a date when the same fate that befell his father many years before decided to take a shot at him. Needless to say, he is not pleased when his father, the only other known person who has turned into a Pokemon, suddenly disappears without warning. Please review. Suggested that you read COTL before this.
1. Constant Vigilance

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 1

Yes readers, it is I, it is I, Talkingbirdguy. (It rhymed and sounded cool, sue me! :P) And I have, for your entertainment and delight, the very first chapter to the sequel of Curse of the Lucario! *Roar of applause that reverberates around the planet* (is my ego out of hand? Yes. Do I care? Absolutely not!)

I suggest that, if you haven't read Curse of the Lucario yet, you do so. Even though this will be good even if you haven't, some details may be confusing and might seem random if you don't know the story behind them. But whatever, your choice.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, just the story that I have created and all original characters I have created.

Without further blah blah blah that most will probably skip anyways, enjoy :).

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Even after Team Styx had been wiped off of the face of the planet, I never really gave up that small amount of paranoia that made me think that some aspect of Team Styx had survived.

I always was watching the news, keeping an eye out for any signs of Team Styx's survival. Then I got complacent. I believed that Team Styx had finally and truly been eradicated. This turned out to be a mistake. A big, big mistake.

And while it hurt me, it hurt my family so much more.

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Chapter 1

Constant Vigilance

JASON'S POV

After making sure I was mentally and physically stable, I was released from the hospital and returned home with my parents. (Narri left us to go traveling and returned to his home after travelling for a few years to different places.)

For the first year after I returned to being human, the biggest threats I faced were rabid reporters and overly enthusiastic people seeking autographs. I decided, so the reporters would back off, to grant an interview to a few of them. I told them my story from my perspective (leaving out certain details that would have landed me in an asylum) and they aired it on TV for years afterwards. Heck, I still see it from time to time.

Well, once I told them everything they wanted to know, they slowly lost interest in me and soon left me (mostly) alone. Surprisingly, there was even a movie made based on my story. It was pretty good, if a bit lacking on a few details. Since it was based on me, they legally had to give me some sort of compensation. So I got a small cut of the movie profits (which wasn't small in the slightest!).

Two years after I turned back human, I was able to go out in public without the need for someone accompanying me. I was still stared at and asked for the occasional autograph, but it wasn't usually too much of an irritation. The stares I had received as a Lucario had made me almost fully immune to the stares my blue hair and red pupils caused.

Five years after and I had already moved out and was living on my own near the Lucario sanctuary. I had accepted a job from Mr Ignacious that was involved in helping protect the Lucario sanctuary from trainers, poachers, and other threats. Being so close to the sanctuary, I was able to keep in contact with Narri, my best friend and oldest companion. My ability to channel and use aura made the Lucario that lived there respect me as though I was a Lucario myself.

I'm able to use aura to "see" about twenty meters around me with my eyes closed. I'm able to speak to others with aura, to a certain extent. I'm able to create a slightly smaller form of an aura sphere. And, only when I have meditated for a short time, I am able to mold my aura to create small objects that last for roughly half an hour before disappearing. Those are a few things I have managed to do with aura, but not everything.

After getting his education, Shade went to work for the WPO. His job required him to travel a lot, so I saw him pretty infrequently over the years. We stayed friendly and he stayed over at our house a few times, so we were still pretty good friends even if I didn't see him very often.

A side affect of working for Mr Ignacious, that I am incredibly grateful for, was that I got to get to know Hannah Ignacious. (Yes, the very same girl who's Ninetales tackled me and knocked me on my butt. Lucy is still being a pain in the butt all these years later). I started dating Hannah and ten years after I turned back into a human, and three years of dating, we got married. A year later, we had a son.

We named him Jacob. While we were both worried that he would inherit odd traits from me, due to the tiny amount of Pokemon DNA found in my system, it was not a problem. He had no odd physical traits and was deemed perfectly healthy by medical professionals. When he started growing hair, we saw that he would inherit some of my blue hair, but it was only shown in small streaks through his regular brown hair.

I watched Jacob as he grew up and checked to see if he had inherited any of my talent with controlling aura. I figured out that he had no skill when it came to using aura, but made sure to never make him feel bad about it.

Well, we bought a nice house close by the Lucario Sanctuary and raised Jacob there. It was in a small city that was not really too prominent on the map, but it was only a few miles away from the Sanctuary and was a pleasant place. It being so isolated had the added side affect of less people finding and bothering me.

When Hannah's grandfather, Mr Ignacious, died, she inherited both most of his fortune and his mansion. Combined with the money that I got from allowing a movie to be made about me, we were considerably wealthy. While we contemplated living in the mansion, we both knew that neither of us would like the amount of work (or money) needed for its upkeep. So we decided to continue living where we had chose to raise Jacob and sold the mansion. We made sure to add conditions to the sell, to make sure that those who lived there did not try to expand into the sanctuary and create problems for the Pokemon that were already there.

Narri also settled down and had a family (with Pip of all the female Lucario!). They had a kid, a female Riolu, that they named Luna when Jacob was five and those two became very good friends. I became a regular visitor to the Lucario village where Narri settled. I would visit sometimes on business. But most of the time I visited so Jacob could play with Luna, and partly so I could relax in those heavenly hot springs.

Though our excursions to said heavenly hot springs was cut down drastically when, unbeknownst to Narri and myself, Jacob (age 7) and Luna (age 2) decided to sneak off and play with the other Riolu in the village. While this in itself was a regular occurrence, the game that which ended in a pissed off Beedrill swarm attacking the village, however, was not. I still don't know how they managed to sneak close enough to the hive to drench it in berry juice.

But after that fiasco (or at least after Pip and Hannah heard about it) both me and Narri were forbidden to go anywhere near the hot spring while Luna or Jacob were out playing.

When Mr Ignacious passed, I lost my job. I didn't have to worry too much thanks to the substantial amount of money we had in the bank. At some point, I had a stroke of brilliance and asked the people in charge of the area for permission to take up Mr Ignacious' job. They gave their consent, and I was given the official duty of taking care of the Sanctuary. This was actually a big responsibility, but I managed to do it quite well.

When Jacob was ten, I made sure to bring him along with me when I went to the Sanctuary and taught him all about the different Pokemon that lived there. He always seemed to enjoy it, so I made sure to take him along after school and on weekends every chance I could.

Sometimes, when it was late and Luna was at our house, she would spend the night. And, when it was late and we were at the Sanctuary, I would let Jacob spend the night. Because of Jacob's closeness with Luna at such a young age, he began to understand a lot of what Luna said to him when she spoke in the Pokemon language. While he couldn't understand most other Pokemon, he could understand Riolu and Lucario with a high rate of success. I could understand a little, but not to the degree that Jacob could.

Luna, along with Narri and Pip, basically became family and we visited each other often. Though I would usually visit Narri more often since it was easier for me to drive the couple of miles than for him to walk them.

Luna evolved into a Lucario when Jacob was fourteen and just entering high school. While they remained friends, they started moving apart as they grew older. He also started to move away from me. He started coming to the Sanctuary with me less and less as he got older.

While I was put down by this, I knew that it was natural and didn't push too hard against it.

One night, I got a call from the local police about an alarming jump in aggressive activity regarding Pokemon near the Sanctuary. While this didn't happen too often, it did happen about 15 or so times every year. I would usually go in, sometimes with Jacob and sometimes alone, and try to find the aggressive Pokemon. I would then try to figure out what caused the Pokemon's aggression and fix it. If I was unable to figure out what was wrong or the Pokemon stayed violent, I would call the Pokemon Rangers and have them send someone.

I've worked with Roderick Greene (Rick, as he demanded to be called) on numerous occasions after he reached his goal to become a Pokemon Ranger. I managed to pull in his name when I was doing one of those interviews and made sure to put emphasis on his goal to become a Ranger. Three days after, I got a excited call from Rick thanking me for setting him up with a Ranger.

Well, he gave me his personal number to call if I ever needed help or a favor and thanks to the position he reached in the Ranger organization, I had the ability to get a Ranger to the sanctuary in under an hour.

I told the police that I would check in on the aggressive Pokemon and keep them updated on the situation before hanging up. As I gathered a few supplies, (a few pokeballs in case of injured Pokemon who need major medical attention, some medical supplies, some Pokemon food, and some energy bars), I visited Jacob's (age 16) room.

I knocked on the door and heard, "Come in."

I opened the door to find him studying on two shirts that he had laid on his bed.

I suddenly remembered about the date he was preparing for. He had informed me of it three days prior, but naturally, I had forgot.

"Whatchya need?" he asked while not taking his eyes off the two shirts.

I chuckled and said, "Well, I was about to invite you to come and take care of some aggressive Pokemon, but I just remembered about your date."

He took his eyes off the shirts and gave me an apologetic look.

"Sorry, I wish I could come. I really do!"

I raised my hand to ward off his apologies.

"It's no problem. Make sure you're back home by ten, please. And have a good time."

He nodded and said, "Wait!" I leaned back in and he held up the shirts.

"Which one looks better?"

I studied them for a moment before pointing and saying, "The blue one. The other has a stain on the sleeve."

I exited the room chuckling at his expression of surprise at the stain that he must not have noticed and would not have if not for me pointing it out.

I heard him yell, "Thanks!" as I walked down the stairs and smiled.

After double checking that I hadn't forgotten anything important, I kissed Hannah goodbye and carefully avoided Lucy's slumbering form as I went out the front door and to my vehicle. I drove to the Sanctuary and parked my vehicle on the side of the road near where the police reported most of the aggressive behavior happening. The sun had set a few minutes earlier, and while most would need a flashlight or something at the time I entered the forest, I just closed my eyes and extended my aura.

After making sure my aura vision was stable, I began walking deeper into the forest. While my maximum width with aura sight was almost twenty meters standing still, it was reduced to fifteen meters while walking. The quality of the sight did not get any worse while walking, so I was easily able to avoid trees and roots that would normally trip me up.

As I walked, I had a strange feeling that something was amiss. It was as though there was some sort of heavy presence in the atmosphere that seemed to whisper in your ear and rile you up. I felt strangely irritated, and knew that there was no cause to the irritation.

The deeper I went, the more I had to suppress the feeling of annoyance that got stronger with every step.

I couldn't concentrate well enough to continue using aura sight and opened my eyes. An added bonus I discovered a long time ago was that my night vision was very good. While not as good as an actual Lucario's eyes, they were able to see in the dark enough to make sure I didn't walk into trees or stumble over roots.

I realized, even through my strange irritation, that there were no sounds of life anywhere around me. I had a good sense of hearing from before I transformed, and my ears became 60% keener after my transformation. Even when I wasn't paying attention, I should have been hearing some of the nocturnal Pokemon flying or running about. When I concentrated, I could usually hear a subterranean Pokemon as it burrowed underground.

I concentrated, and heard nothing. Along with my irritation, I developed a sense of worry. Whatever was causing all these Pokemon to become aggressive, it had also scared them off. I continued to walk deeper into the forest and started hearing a ringing in my ear that seemed to urge me to punch a tree, a bush, the ground, anything and everything.

It was at that point that I pulled out my phone and dialed a number before putting it to my ear. After a few seconds of ringing, I heard someone say, "Hello?"

"Hey Rick," I said, using extreme self control to keep the strange irritation from creeping into my voice.

"Hey Jason, anything wrong? You sound a little tense." Guess he picked up on that.

"Well I got a call from the police about some aggressive Pokemon. You know, the usual. Well, I've been walking in the area where the Pokemon were reported to be and something strange is happening."

"Strange how?" He was using his "Ranger tone" as I liked to call it, and was paying full attention to my words.

"Well ever since I got into the forest, I've noticed a distinct lack of any Pokemon life. And for awhile now, I've had an unexplainable irritation appear. It's recently gotten stronger and evolved into anger. I can feel myself wanting to punch stuff. I'm hardly able to speak civilly right now."

There was a slight pause and Rick said, "Okay, well I'll send somebody over immediately. Do you feel like you should back off and-"

"I'm not a child who need your help!" I barked and immediately regretted it.

"Wait! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say that."

Rick had a worried tone in his voice now.

"Look, I'm not being condescending, but you really should go back to your vehicle and wait for us to get there."

I started walking in the direction I had came and said, "Us?"

I heard some movement on his end and he said, "Yes. I'm coming along with another ranger who should arrive within the next twenty minutes or so."

"Wait, aren't you on the other side of the continent?"

"Yes, I'll have my partner teleport me to your location as soon as I report this to my superiors. Just get to your vehicle and wait there until the other Ranger gets there."

"Okay," I answered, feeling much less angry now that I had traveled away from whatever was causing my irritation.

He hung up and I made my way to my vehicle. I sat on the hood, feeling completely calm, when I saw a flash of light and a figure appeared a little ways from my vehicle. (The Rangers had developed a system where physic types were able to teleport people where they needed to go without having to go with them.)

The moment the figure appeared, I hopped off the hood and made my way towards the Ranger.

I saw the guy, who looked to be about twenty, tense up at the sound of my footsteps.

"Who's that?" he asked, searching his pockets for something.

"Relax. I'm Jason Simmons. Rick sent you here at my request."

He paused for a moment and got less tense, but continued to search through his pockets.

"Oh, sorry about that. Can't see anything out here. Don't you have a light or something?"

I shrugged and was thankful that it was too dark for him to realize the stupid action I had done in response to his question.

"Don't need much light to see. I can see very well in near pitch black darkness. But here," I got out my small flashlight I had brought and shined it to the side to avoid blinding him.

Even not shined directly at him, he still squinted when I turned it on.

"Thanks. Now can you please explain the situation? I was told a few details, but only the bare minimum."

"Sure. Here." I handed him the flashlight and waved for him to follow me as I walked towards the forest.

"I'll explain along the way," I said and he followed me. I explained to him why I was there and pointed out the lack of life around us. When we got close enough, I explained how I felt a sense of irritation that stemmed from no source that I could tell.

"And when I got closer, I felt this irritation turn into anger and felt like I needed to punch something. Can you feel it?"

He gave me an odd look and shook his head.

"I don't feel anything like you describe."

I stopped, confused and mildly irritated at his answer. After a moment, I asked, "Do you have a Pokemon with you?"

He nodded and grabbed a pokeball from a pocket.

"Yes. Why?"

"Let it out, I want to see something."

He opened the pokeball and a Meowth appeared. The moment the feline Pokemon came out, it was immediately apparent that something was wrong. The Meowth seemed to tense up and started growling at us in a threatening manner.

The Ranger looked at the Meowth with an expression of frightened confusion.

"Meowth? What's wrong? Why are you so tensed up?" The way he was acting told me that the Meowth's behavior was not its usual temperament and confirmed a theory that I had come up with.

"I think you should return him to his pokeball," I suggested and he nodded.

He raised the pokeball and the Meowth jumped to the side to dodge the red beam of light. He then got his claws out and lunged for the Ranger.

I shoved the guy, who was too shocked to move, and grabbed the Meowth's tail as it flew by.

I held the furious Pokemon away from my body as he tried to thrashed about furiously. I ran the way we had come, and stopped when the Meowth stopped trying to scratch me and instead hung limply.

I set him down, watching for any sign of aggression as I did so. The Meowth sat on the ground and he looked at the ground in what was unmistakably a sorrowful look. I couldn't feel the unexplainable emotion, so it was safe to say that the Meowth couldn't either.

I knelt on my knees and patted the Meowth on the head and said, "It's okay. I know that you didn't mean to attack me. It's whatever that is causing that feeling that made you. You don't need to feel bad. I'm sorry if I hurt you, I hope you can forgive me."

The Meowth purred and rubbed his head against my hand. I was forgiven. The Ranger jogged up to us and kept his distance as he asked, "Is Meowth okay?"

I nodded and said, "Yes. I think, whatever it is, only affects the temperaments of Pokemon. That's the reason it didn't affect you at all but has such a big affect on your Meowth."

"But why did it affect you if it only affects Pokemon?"

I chuckled and stood up.

"That's cause I've got some Pokemon DNA in me. About 17% according to my last checkup."

To answer the upcoming question before he even asked it, I raised my hand and brought an aura sphere into being.

His eyes widened when he connected the blue hair and my name.

One. Two. Three. Fo-

"You're that guy that turned into a Lucario!", he shouted after he figured it out.

"Yup, now can we focus on this problem first and then I'll answer any ten questions you ask me once we solve whatever is wrong. Until then, please hold off your inquisitive flood. Agreed?"

I had faced this problem before, but had developed a method that gave the curious person what they wanted and allowed me to do whatever I needed to do.

The Ranger took about ten seconds before nodding.

"Good." I let my aura sphere fade away as I turned to the Meowth.

"Go ahead and put Meowth in the pokeball while it's safe to do so. We'll have to solve this problem without Pokemon help."

He returned his Meowth and shrunk the pokeball before storing it into one of his pockets.

I waved for him to follow and started walking in the direction that the source of irritation originated.

I stopped a little ways from the point where the irritation began and said, "On second thought, go ahead and begin asking questions. Perhaps it will help distract me from the irritation and anger long enough for us to take care of the problem."

He grinned excitedly and asked, "Only ten, or more?"

"Go ahead and continue asking however many you wish. Just forgive me if I seem a little snappish or annoyed when answering."

He nodded enthusiastically and began walking.

"Okay, umm. Do you have any fur?"

I laughed at one or the most often asked questions I got and shook my head.

"No. Just the blue coloring in my hair. Next." Even as I felt the irritation creep in, I felt as though it was blunted now that I was distracted from it.

"Is it true your eyes are red?"

"Just the pupils. Next."

"Do you have any other Lucario-like characteristics that are not obvious?"

"I have better hearing and a better sense of smell. My eyesight is a little more sharp than before I transformed, but not enough to be superhuman. My sense of taste is also a little more keen than most. No other physical characteristics than my hair and eyes to note. Next."

"Is your best friend a Lucario?"

"Yeah, his name is Narri. And no. Before you can ask, I'm not going to introduce you to him."

I saw by his expression that I had hit his next question spot on. I was surprised when Narri was sometimes liked more than myself in the movie based off my life. Because of this, I was often asked to introduce fans to him.

He recovered and said, "Does anybody else in your family have the same amount of control over aura that you do?"

That caused a pang of sadness that the irritation multiplied and caused me to snap out, "**No**. And there is absolutely **nothing** wrong with that!"

I stopped when I processed my own words and said, "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

He waved his hand, "It's okay. That was kind of personal. What moves can you use? Aside from aura sphere, of course."

I let the distraction from the question quell the irritation and anger as I answered. "Metal claw, bone rush, close combat. Though that last one causes me to nearly pass out after using it. The strain is just too much for the human body. Next."

"Can you hear that?" he asked and I stopped, confused. I then noticed that there were sounds coming from in front of us.

I waved for him to follow me and I began jogging in the direction of the sound of life. As we got closer, I felt the thing causing my anger **SPIKE**! I felt myself shaking from the fury that coursed through my body. Finding no reason and needing none, I began sprinting. The adrenalin that pumped through my body let me far outpace the Ranger that tried to catch up to me. His cries for me to stop fell unheard.

I saw, from a sort of displaced viewpoint as though from a distance, people standing in a well lit clearing and I sprinted at them.

The moment I entered the clearing, I felt most of my fury drain away, leaving me with a lot of adrenalin but little common sense.

I bellowed at the top of my lungs in a voice that, frankly, scared me, "_What have you done!_"

The whole clearing had frozen, shocked that a random man had barged in and screamed at them with, seemingly, no provocation.

I felt my anger drain away completely and I was able to analyze the situation better.

The clearing was lit by four large lights set up on trees. This showed that they (whoever they are) planned to stay for awhile. The clearing had a large machine which was humming and had a big sphere, the size of a basketball, on top that seemed to vibrate menacingly. Two separate tents had been put up that held computer equipment and other machines that I didn't recognize.

The people themselves (there were seven of them doing various tasks) were all wearing the same general clothes, nondescript black jackets with black pants and brown gloves. The similarities in clothing told me that they wore uniforms, but for who?

They came out of their frozen state and a man who looked to be about my age faced me and said, "You are Jason Simmons?"

This sent alarm bells ringing through my head.

"Are you the cause of that infernal irritation?" I asked, deciding on the spot that whoever they were, they did not mean well.

The man smiled and nodded to two other people who had been in one tent. They reached down at their hips and that was all the incentive I needed to form two separate aura spheres and chuck them into their midst.

The man who had nodded jumped out of both of the aura spheres blast radius'. But the two I had aimed for had been effectively taken out along with two others who had been nearby. My other sphere was successful in connecting with the machine at the middle of the clearing and blew it to bits.

Before I could react by sending more aura spheres and taking the other tent down, the feeling of rage returned with an avenging spirit. I fell to my knees as I grabbed my head and screamed in both fury and pain. It is debilitating to have emotions that do not stem from natural sources shoved into you.

I could hardly stop screaming, let alone stop the man when he walked up to me and smirked before smashing his elbow into the back of my head, stripping me of all vestiges of consciousness I had.

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And there it is people, the first chapter of The Return of the Cursed Gift. If you've read Curse of the Lucario, you'll understand why I chose the title. If you have read COTL and still don't understand the reason I chose this title, PM me and I'll try to explain. If you have yet to read COTL and ask me, it'll ruin a little bit of the story and you won't be able to appreciate it fully, so please don't ask if you've yet to read it.

Also, the next chapter will be in the POV of Jason's son, Jacob. In fact, this story will be in Jacob's POV. At least, most of it will. It will occasionally switch back to Jason, but in the most part it will be in Jacob's POV.

Any and all questions are welcome via PM and review (as long as I am able to respond to it. That's means to please not ask me anything I can't answer directly, guest reviewers!)

But anyways, review please! It's food for the soul and constructive criticism keeps my ego in check :P. So if you noticed anything, don't hesitate to say so.

(Ps, since school literally started about 6 or 7 hours before I posted this chapter, that means that my writing time will be severely cut down. I apologize for this, and will spend most of my free time writing and posting.)

With all that taken care of, Talkingbirdguy is outta here!

UPDATE: 5/23/15. I have gone back and fixed the mistakes and hope that I found most of them. Please inform me of any I have missed.


	2. Like father like son

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 2

Okay people, chapter 2 is out! The roof has now been elevated! :P

Thanks for the reviews and suggestions and blah blah blah.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, just the story that I have created and all original characters I have created.

Enjoy :)

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Chapter 2

Like father like son

JACOB'S POV

I had spent the last fifteen minutes staring at the two shirts that I had laid out on the bed. One was blue. The other was red. They both were the same style of shirt and both would match the pair of pants I had chosen. Both were the same price (not that expensive due to my habit to try to spend as little as possible on clothes). Both fit me in the same way.

But choosing between the two for my upcoming date was a task that should have been given to a bomb diffusing expert or someone who had to make nationally important decisions on a daily basis. Which one would she like more?

I was considering creating an actual list of all the pros and cons of both shirts when I heard a knock come from my closed door.

"Come in," I said on reflex while still keeping my eyes locked on the two shirts.

The door opened and there was a pause before I asked, "Whatchya need?"

I heard my dad chuckle and he said, "Well, I was about to invite you to come and take care of some aggressive Pokemon, but I remembered about your date."

I felt a rush of guilt and took my eyes off the shirts.

"Sorry, I wish I could come. I really do!" And I did mean it. I had been going to the Lucario Sanctuary less and less with him. I hadn't seen Luna in almost three weeks. We had been best friends even before either of us could speak properly and had never been apart that long. It was due to my closeness to her that I was able to understand Pokemon language to an extent.

It was nothing that Luna or my dad had done that drove me to come to the Sanctuary less and less. It was just life. Specifically, high school life. While I mostly divided my time evenly between hanging out with Luna and my friends when I was in middle school, I started spending more time with my high school friends than with Luna when I entered the ninth grade. Thankfully, neither my dad nor Luna seemed to hold it against me.

Evidence of that rose when my dad held up his hand and said, "It's no problem. Make sure you're back home by ten, please. And have a good time."

I nodded and he started to exit the room before I called out, "Wait!"

He leaned back in and I held up the two shirts.

"Which one looks better?" I decided to wear whichever he chose, just to end the heated debate that my mind was waging. I never really put much thought into the clothes I wore, so the debate got tiring before it really got under way.

He studied them for a few seconds before pointing and saying, "The blue one. The other has a stain on the sleeve."

He smiled at my incredulous expression when I heard his words and I heard him laughing as he left.

I yelled, "Thanks!" I knew he heard me even if he didn't respond.

The decision made, I put the red one back in my closet with a mental note to take care of that stain at a later date.

I put the blue one on and examined myself in the mirror that was almost as tall as I was (my height being 6 feet, 1 inch.)

I made sure my hair was combed to perfection. While the blue streaks among the brown might be mistaken for highlights, they were actually my natural hair. I didn't tell many people that because then they wouldn't believe me. Not unless I told them the reason behind how I could grow blue hair.

Because if everybody found out that my dad was **the** Jason Simmons, the _only_ known person to have turned into a Pokemon, I would become semi famous at my school. I didn't want that. I didn't want to become "_Jason Simmons' son_" and suddenly get a lot of new '_friends_' after revealing the fact. I had told no one who I didn't trust and the ones who I did tell were cool enough to simply accept it and forget about it.

I hadn't even told Andrea, my upcoming date, about who my dad was. She had met him before, at some school event for a few minutes, but never really spoke to him. I'm actually surprised more people haven't realized who my dad was, with his completely blue hair and red pupils. (Perhaps they just thought he wore special contacts or something?)

I had met Andrea in ninth grade on the first day of high school. We quickly became friends, but I never got enough courage to ask her on an actual date until the summer before eleventh grade. Yes, I know, two years after I met her. What can I say, I'm not the dating type.

She accepted and I made a reservation at a semi fancy restaurant. I would drive there alone and meet her at exactly 6:45 PM. I thanked Arceus that I could drive myself and didn't have to have one of my parents drop me off.

It was about 5:50 PM by the time I decided that I couldn't do much else to improve my image. So I just sat and read a book, trying not to get any of my clothes wrinkled, until it was time for me to go.

I headed downstairs and gave my mom a kiss before hurrying out to my vehicle. I didn't even bother trying to avoid sleeping Ninetails on my way. She would have taken that opportunity to claw a hole in my pants or shirt or force me to go change with some other sort of prank.

That is, she would have if I hadn't spiked her food earlier with some sleeping powder I had got from a friend. Assured that Lucy would not be able to prank me and ruin my image, I boldly stepped over the slumbering Pokemon, and was promptly tripped by one of her tails coming up right as my foot passed over her.

I tumbled to the ground, just barely missing hitting Lucy on my way down. The sounds of laughter told me that Lucy had not fallen for the spiked food and that I had only a few seconds before she messed up my clothes further than the fall already had.

I scrambled to get up when I heard Lucy's footsteps start coming towards me and barely dodged her tongue from licking my hair. It is **impossible** to get Ninetails spit out of hair due to it hardening in seconds! I can tell you that from past experience.

The Ninetails jumped on top of me and strained to push her tongue closer to my head. Her laughing so hard was probably the only thing that kept her from beating my resistance.

Not even caring how girly it sounded, I yelled, "Moooooom! Lucy's trying to mess up my hair!"

The Pokemon quickly jumped off of me and curled up on the ground, for all appearances, asleep.

My mom came in and frowned at Lucy with what I had nicknamed long ago her patented, '_Human Mean Look_'.

"You're not fooling anyone with that act. Now stop messing with Jacob before his date. Got it!"

I knew that Lucy had seen the loophole, and she nodded without hesitation.

I sighed, knowing that I was going to be pranked harder for calling my mom to the scene, and made my way to my flatbed truck. I drove quickly, to make up for lost time, and arrived at the restaurant parking lot at 6:30 PM.

I waited for ten minutes, using the time to make sure I looked okay, before getting out and heading inside.

I saw Andrea sitting inside and quickly made my way to where she was sitting. I saw that she wore a blue dress that made me very glad that my dad had pointed out the blue shirt instead of the red one. Her long blonde hair was straightened to perfection and draped over her shoulders when she turned her head one way or the other.

"Hey," she greeted with a smile and I nodded at her before sitting down beside her, making sure not to sit too close.

We made small talk until a waitress called out, "Simmons?"

I raised my hand and we followed the waitress to our table. We passed by a few Pokemon on the way to our table, but not many. Most restaurants technically allowed people to keep their Pokemon out of their Pokeballs, but it was sort of an unspoken rule to not do it in fancy places unless they were very well behaved.

The waitress waited until we were sitting and took our drink orders while setting down two menus on the table. She left and I was alone with Andrea.

I took a minute to admire our surroundings. The tables were adorned with black tablecloths. The walls had assorted kinds of art on them. The chairs were nice looking and comfortable. All the things you would expect in a nice restaurant.

"You ready for school yet?" Andrea asked, breaking the silence that had formed without me noticing.

"Nah, I'm still enjoying the break," I answered with a shrug and a small smile.

She laughed and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm not ready either."

She started to say something else, but then the waitress came back with our drinks and asked if we were ready to order.

Andrea pointed to her menu and said what she wanted while I scrambled to decide what I wanted in that ten second period.

I pointed to something I could barely pronounce that had a picture that looked interesting next to it and the waitress wrote it down. She left and Andrea said, "You didn't even look at your menu before she came, did you?"

I gave her a mareepish smile and shook my head.

"Nope, I was too busy admiring this place. I've never been here."

She nodded, then said, "I've only been here once before. So I already knew what I wanted."

I laughed, then said, "Cheater."

She stuck her tongue out at me and we both started laughing quite loudly, earning some disapproving stares from some other tables.

Just when I was about to slow down on the laughing, a sharp pain jabbed me in my chest and my laughter was cut off in an instant, to be replaced with a groan.

Andrea stopped laughing when she saw me rubbing my chest with a grimace.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

I felt the pain recede and forced my face into a smile while waving my hand in an 'It's nothing' gesture.

"It's fine. Guess I laughed a little too much." But I knew it was a lie. I knew the pain associated with laughing a lot. This felt nothing like that.

She kept that concerned look, but said no more on it. We started talking about something else and she lost the look.

Five minutes after the pain in my chest, I felt something in my eyes as we were discussing one of our more dramatic friends antics.

I clamped my hands to my eyes as I felt them seem to... burn. But this was different than getting sand or dirt in your eyes. This pain seemed to ignite at the center and caused everything to go completely blurry before popping back into focus without explanation.

"Jacob? Is everything alright?" Andrea asked and I blinked away a few tears before looking back up.

Before I could respond to tell her that everything was fine, her eyes widened and her mouth opened in what was obviously shock.

"What? What's wrong," I asked, looking behind me and seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

She leaned in and whispered, "Your _eyes_! They're **red**!"

I blinked in surprise at her unexpected words, snatched up my spoon, and looked at my reflection in the silverware. Sure enough, my iris' (usually a bright blue), were now a dark red. A strange thought came into my head. Those eyes... they were familiar. But where had I seen them before?

I was speechless and didn't hear Andrea until she said in a forceful tone, "Jacob!"

I dropped the spoon in surprise and barely managed to catch it before it hit the ground and made a racket.

I placed it carefully on the table, noticing that my fingers were shaking while I did that.

"Are you okay? Tell me the truth," Andrea said, looking very concerned this time.

I smiled, but gave up when I knew that it looked completely forced.

"I have no clue what's going on. Look, I'll let you know if anything else happens. But it seems to have subsided so I don't think we have to worry." I was being truthful. All the discomfort had faded completely and, while I was freaking out and worried, I didn't want to screw up this date.

She got a thoughtful look then nodded.

"Fine. But if anything else happens, I'm taking you straight to a doctor. And no arguing!" she added that last part as I opened my mouth to protest.

I shut my mouth and gave my consent with a nod. I knew that look in her eyes. It said, "_If you dare argue, I'm going to knock you out and force you to do it anyways_." I knew, from personal experience, she meant business when she had that look. So I didn't dare go against her.

Only about thirty seconds after giving that consent, I had to clench my teeth to not let out a groan at pain that suddenly appeared in my midsection. Andrea was distracted by a waiter dropping some silverware long enough for me to drop the smile and let my face morph into a mask of pain for a moment before it faded.

"Andrea, I-", I began to excuse myself to the bathroom, but stopped talking due to a sudden explosion of pain across my entire body that forced me to my feet and caused the chair behind me to fall over.

"Jacob! What's wrong?!" I barely heard her voice as I sunk to my knees from the all-consuming agony that coursed through my being. I didn't have the capacity to scream, I just groaned loudly.

The pain seemed to lessen for a moment, and I began to stand back up, but then I felt it become more focused. It began with my legs and arms.

They changed their shape so quickly that any pain associated with that specific part of the transformation went unnoticed. I felt my shoes rip slightly and I knew they were unfit to be called footwear any longer. My jeans hid my legs from my sight, but I felt fur sprout from my skin nonetheless. I could actually see the fur as it sprouted out of my skin like weeds on steroids. It felt... _prickly_. Once my arms and legs had been fully covered in the fur, and changed shape fully, I saw two separate spikes (that seemed to be made of pure bone) burst from the back of both of my hands.

I closed my eyes and felt my torso and face shift, while not moving an inch. The world tilted sickeningly before snapping back into place with the sound of tearing cloth and causing me to fall on my butt. That's how I discovered my new tail: by nearly crushing it.

I opened my eyes, ignoring the beautiful surroundings that had fallen deathly silent, and staring in horror at my hands... paws. I saw that I now had three fingers.

It only took a second for me to piece it all together. The red eyes. The chest spike (which had created a large hole in my oh so nice shirt) and spikes on the back of my hands. The strange organ like things hanging on both sides of my head. The blue and black fur. Three fingered paws. Strangely shaped legs.

I had done what my father had done so many years before. I had turned into a Lucario! And in the middle of my date no less. Fan-freaking-tastic!

Speaking of my date, I looked up from my paws to see Andrea standing there with a strange expression. I saw that she had a small cut on her hand that hadn't been there before and I saw that there was a tiny bit of blood on the back of my right hand spike. She must have gotten too close and I must have accidentally scratched her with my spike without realizing it.

"Jacob-" her voice was cut off by a shrill scream from one of the restaurants other customers. At the sound, I felt a shot of primal fear and jumped to my feet and began to run. Not really thinking about what I was doing, I just ran.

The small amount of people who were in my way quickly got out of my path as I barreled through the restaurant and out of the front doors. I thought about driving, but decided that in my mental state, it might has well been drinking while intoxicated. My mind was in a total disarray from my panic, just screaming, _"Get to a safe place! Then I'll let you have control again so you can freak out in a more controlled manner!"_ (Apparently my primal self is quite thoughtful, sort of.)

I began running. I used my new muscles with great affect and, before I realized it, I was only a short distance from home. I had done what was normally a thirty minute drive in only forty minutes by running all out and not slowing down at all. I only paid attention to my surroundings if they were in my way. I would then get around or over the obstacle and continue onward. When I looked back on it later, I had done some impressive leaps over a few vehicles and fences that I would not have probably been able to do if I was in my right mind.

I finally started slowing down when I realized that I was on the same street as my house and I would be somewhere safe in just a minute. With the primal urge to insure self-safety finally fulfilled, my mind finally let itself think, and I slowed down to a walk.

My first thought when my self control returned? "_Holy Crap! I really am in shape! Hardly breathing hard at all!_"

Once I got over that train of thought, my thoughts returned to the real issue.

For whatever reason, I had transformed into a Lucario. I had done what my father had so many years before when he was about my age. I shivered when I remembered my dad's stories about the infamous Team Styx. I had done a project one on Team Styx in school (I had gotten one amazing grade when I was able to get an interview from my father about their actions regarding him) and knew what people would do to get a hold of those who had the power of aura. While there had been no signs or Team Styx for many years, I knew my dad was always a little paranoid about the possible resurrection of the the people that tried to kill him all those years before. I couldn't blame him for it.

I then stopped on the side of the road when a particularly unpleasant memory appeared. It was one where my dad had told me that, somehow, Team Styx was responsible for him transforming into a Lucario. Did me turning into one mean that Team Styx was once again shooting for their plans based on their fearsome aura bombs? Would I now become the center of international attention and cause for insane quantities of worry and fear?

It was when my thoughts strayed to worry that I began thinking about how my family would react.

Let's see. Dad would probably just be surprised for a little bit before getting excited and suggesting things I should try to do with aura. We would probably spend hours doing random stuff involving aura.

My mom? She would be freaking out and simultaneously slapping my dad's head to try to get him to act serious.

Lucy? She wouldn't care if I turned into a Pokemon, she's still getting her pranks in. Turning into a Pokemon just creates a whole new dimension of pranks in her eyes.

The thoughts about the amount of stuff she could do to my new fur almost had me turning away from the path, but I shook it off.

Then my mind went to how Andrea would react. I groaned when I realized that any ideas that we were still dating were probably just dreams at that point. I pushed those thoughts to the side at the time and focused on getting my keys out of my pocket as I had arrived at my house.

With a bit of difficulty, due to my pants being stretched slightly by my waist expanding a good bit and my spike getting in the way, I got my keys out of my pocket. It was also pretty difficult working with only three fingers to put the key into the lock.

When I finally managed it, I went through the door and only just took a few steps into the barely lit house before Lucy slammed into my chest, knocking me down roughly.

The way she jumped on my chest and held her paw against my throat now held no trace of her earlier playfulness.

"Who are you!" she growled in a way that couldn't be mistaken for anything but threatening. Her entire body was tensed and her tails were raised behind her. While I mostly understood her as a human, knowing Pokemon language to a certain extent, turning into a Pokemon had apparently come with a built in dictionary along with the body. (Unfortunately, it also came built in with a tail, which I wanted to stop crushing by falling on my butt because it really does hurt!)

When I thought about it, I hadn't even checked to see if I could speak like a human anymore. Well, time to try it out.

"Relax Lucy, it's Jacob. Remember? The one who tried to spike your food today, and failed. You tried to lick my hair in revenge but Mom stopped you."

I took extra care to keep my voice calm and not seem threatening. While I've been the target of a few of her ember attacks, I don't want to ever take the brunt of one of her more powerful fire attacks. Especially not at point blank in the face. And her tails were probably primed and ready to do much worse. I would take an ember to the face any day rather than be subjected to her tails.

I also noticed that my voice appeared to be speaking in English, but that may have been my brain just translating it for me, so I didn't make a conclusion yet.

She got a confused look on her face before leaning in a little and sniffing me.

She then raised her head, took a look at my clothes, and began laughing hysterically.

"Hey! What the heck is so freaking funny?!" I asked indignantly.

She tried to form words, but gave up and continued to laugh. I angrily pushed her off of me and got up as she continued to writhe on the floor in helpless giggling hysterics.

I rolled my eyes at her and turned on some lights so it wouldn't be so dark. Though the dark really didn't bother me due to my new body having very good night vision. I just turned the lights on for when my parents got home, so they wouldn't be totally blind.

I made sure the blinds were shut before going to our living room and collapsing on our couch.

I stared up at the ceiling, not really thinking about anything. My mind was taking a little break and just let me stare aimlessly. I stayed that way for almost half an hour before I decided to get up and go get a shower. Why a shower? Because showers are relaxing, and I was in dire need of some relaxation.

I passed by Lucy on the way to the stairs and she burst out in a new round of helpless giggles at the sight of me. I held back the urge to kick at her as I went past and up the stairs to my bathroom.

I took a long shower. When I got out, I got a special towel that we had bought for when Luna would occasionally spend the night at our place. It was specially designed to help suck the moisture out of a Pokemon's fur and helped me get dry in a few minutes.

I put on a pair of shorts, for the sake of modesty, but didn't bother with a shirt. I didn't want to stab any more holes in my clothing. Heck, with how the fur felt like a shirt, I would probably be ditching the shorts soon as well.

I was heading back downstairs when I heard the doorbell ring. I gulped when I wondered who it could be. The Press?_ Team Styx? The WPO?_

I calmed myself and went to the door. I opened it, prepared for just about everything from a full on retrieval squad to my _mom_ (cue shiver), and was shocked, and happy, when none of my guesses were correct.

Standing before me was a Lucario. To be specific, a female Lucario. To be even more specific, a very pissed off female Lucario.

She stood there for a moment, neither of us saying anything, before I noticed that she too was wearing clothes. A blue dress that was eerily familiar...

"Andrea!?" I cried, shocked. How in the world did she also turn into a Pokemon!?

She scowled even harder and said, "I can't speak like a human, so my parents thought I was a wild Pokemon that got into our house! How the heck can you still speak English!?"

I took a step back, afraid of her temper, and said, "I don't know! I don't even know how I turned into a Pokemon, let alone how you did."

She crossed her arms and seemed to calm down slightly. Though she still held an angry expression.

"Whatever. Since my parents think I'm a Pokemon, I have no place to live at the moment. Since you're probably the reason why I turned into one, you owe me a place to sleep, for tonight at least."

I blinked a few times before giving her a small grin and saying, "Wow, we're living under the same roof already? I don't think I'm ready for that kind of commitment."

And now she had a death glare.

"Ya know, I may not know all of the moves that Lucario can learn, but I'm certain that they know aura sphere. I think you'll serve as a perfect first test dummy."

I forced the smile off of my face and opened the door a little wider.

"Okay, okay. No need to be blasting up the house because of a joke."

She huffed and walked in, stopping at the sight of Lucy, who was laying on the ground with her eyes closed, still giggling slightly.

"Why is your Ninetails laughing so much?"

I walked to stand next to Andrea and said, "Cause she thinks that me following my dad's footsteps is hilarious."

Lucy opened one of her eyes to look at me, caught sight of Andrea standing there, and began howling with new laughter.

I rolled my eyes and waved for Andrea to follow me.

I led her to the kitchen where I leaned against the wall and waited to see what she would ask first.

"What did you mean, 'following in your dad's footsteps'?"

I sighed and said, "You know the guy who turned into a Lucario all those years ago and back into a human?"

She nodded slowly.

"That's my dad."

She blinked, opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Closed it. Then finally said, "You're joking, right?"

My deadpan stare told her I was serious.

She leaned against a wall and held her hand... paw, against her face.

"How the heck did I never notice?"

"Probably cause I never advertised it," I said, amused at her reaction.

She glared at me and I said, "Whatever. I'm just going to wait till my he gets home and ask him what we should do. Cause remember, he did turn back human." Then again, I believe that involved blowing up a mountain, but I left that part out.

She nodded and straightened up.

"Fine. Now where's some clothes I can wear? These are not exactly suitable to be called clothes anymore."

I shrugged and said, "Fur almost feels like clothes. I'm thinking of ditching these shorts anyways."

She gaped at me for a moment at my suggestion and said, "Oh you would like that, wouldn't you?"

My brain processed what she was insinuating a few moment later and I sputtered, "No! That's not- **No**!"

I was glad there was fur on my face because I knew my cheeks would be fiery red if I was human.

She shook her head and said, "Where's your shower at. I need to clean myself off." I then noticed that she had a few leaves stuck in her fur and dress and reasoned that she went through the woods to get to my place.

"Uh, upstairs second door on the right. I'll leave you some clothes outside the door for when you get done. The Pokemon towels are in the drawer to the left."

She nodded and walked away. I stood where I was, letting my head rest against the wall. This new turn of events was going to be interesting. Hopefully Dad would get home and help fix whatever caused this.

I heard the soft footsteps of Lucy enter the kitchen.

"So. How was the first date?"

"Lucy."

"Yes?"

"Don't make me dye your tails like the rainbow, again."

"Alright. No need to be so hateful... you bang her yet?"

"**LUCY!**"

* * *

And there's the end of chapter two. Man, fate did not want me to post this chapter. First I started collage classes (despite still being in high school), then I got sick, and then I had to deal with all the regular stuff as well. But, I got it out. That's all that matters :).

Remember, reviews are food for the soul :). Thanks to the people who have already left one. And criticism is appreciated, I would like to know what would make this better.

Suggestions very welcome. A fellow member on this site, tomhur18, has been a great source of suggestions and ideas. Round of applause for him!

Any particular Pokemon you wish to see (up to Gen 4) either leave in a review or PM me and I'll see what I can do :).

Talkingbirdguy, out!

UPDATE: 5/23/15. I've gone back through and fixed the mistakes I could find.


	3. Team Phoenix

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 3

Here's another chapter. I probably should have spent the time that I used to write this to do some homework for my two collage classes, but hey, at least I enjoyed writing this. :P. While I'm happy at those who left the reviews, I would ask that people tell me what they think. I can't read your minds, ya know!

Disclaimer: If I owned Pokemon, I would be getting paid for this! Alas, I am earning no money. Thus, I don't own Pokemon, just the characters and story that I create.

Enjoy :)

* * *

Chapter 3

Team Phoenix

JACOB'S POV

After leaving Lucy, who was rolling around on the ground in laughter yet again at her blush inducing question, I went up to my room and searched for clothes to give Andrea when she came out. I found some shorts with elastic in them, so I knew they would fit her, and I borrowed one of my mom's shirts that she never wore that I was sure would fit Andrea. By the time I gathered these two items, I heard the water stop and I quickly put the clothes outside the door and went back to my room.

I heard the bathroom door open and the sound of her grabbing the clothes.

A moment later, she opened the door again and said loudly, "You forgot a bra and panties!"

"Where do you expect me to get them? From my mom?"

There was silence before she answered back with, "Good point," and the door closed again.

I sighed and went to the guest room, which was right past my room on the right when you came up from the stairs. I made sure that the room was usable and walked out at the same time that Andrea exited the bathroom.

She held up the towel that she used and asked, "Where should I put this?"

"Just put it on the rack, you can use it again if you need to."

She took a moment to put the towel in its spot before following me back downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Since our supper was... interrupted, I really didn't get to eat anything. Have you ate?"

"I had something when I got home. Before I transformed."

I paused as I was getting out a frying pan and asked, "How exactly did your transformation feel?"

She described how she felt, the pains and the burning of the transformation, as I made myself some fried eggs. (Hey, eggs aren't exclusively a breakfast item, so don't judge.)

Her transformation apparently felt the same as mine. No deviations.

When I was finished making the eggs and started eating them, she was at the point when her parents got home.

"Well, I was staring at my dress, or what was left of it, when I heard the door of my house open. I ran out of my room and tried to tell them that I had turned into a Lucario. Of course they can't understand Pokemon." Her eyes misted over with tears at that point and I stopped eating, it would have been rude to continue eating while she was so distressed.

"It was kinda dark, so they must've not noticed my dress. But my dad grabbed a bat and threatened me with it. So I ran. I didn't know who else would let me spend the night, so I came here."

She started to really cry then and I stood up and gave her a comforting hug, being cautious of our chest spikes. She squeezed me tightly and I patted her on her back and let her cry into my shoulder.

We stayed like that for a good while and when she seemed to calm down slightly, I guided her to the couch and sat her down gently while still holding on to her. I kinda squished my tail against the side of the couch, but I didn't dare ask her to scoot over at that moment.

I held her like that for almost ten more minutes before she loosened her grip on me and I released her.

She sniffled a little and I passed her a box of tissues that were handy, thankfully.

She made a sound of thanks, or that's what I took it as, and blew her nose.

Much to my embarrassment, my stomach grumbled loudly and I had the distinct urge to punch my belly for ruining the moment.

Instead of getting angry, Andrea started laughing. It was brittle and not at her usual caliber or volume, but it was laughter. And that was something.

"Sorry," I apologized while dying a little inside from the rumbling that seemed to persist from my stomach.

She calmed down a little and said, "You go ahead and finish eating. I'm going to go to bed, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. The guest bedroom is the one on the right after you go past my room. If you need anything, just wake me up and ask."

She nodded with a small smile still lingering on her lips and walked to the stairs.

I sat there for a second more before returning to the kitchen. Before I started eating again, I noticed that my shoulder fur was soaked and dried it with a towel. I finished up eating and headed up to my room. Before I went in it, I listened carefully and heard no noises coming from Andrea's temporary room, so I assumed she had already went to sleep.

I felt strangely lethargic, even though it wasn't that late, and quickly got in bed. After making sure I wouldn't stab the bed with any of my new spikes while asleep, I turned off my light and let sleep claim victory.

* * *

JASON'S POV

I had woken up enough times in my life in strange places that it only took me a few seconds after regaining consciousness to gather my thoughts and come up with a plan.

I put part one of the hastily created plan into action by jumping up quickly from the ground I had been laying on. Parts two through five, however, were made moot when I immediately collapsed onto the ground.

My first thought upon falling, OWWWW!

The second was the realization that I was once again a Lucario. I rolled onto my back and knew that I was not dreaming. The pain assured me of that. I stared at my ha-paws, and clenched them.

Whoever had turned me into a Lucario had to be connected to Team Styx, somehow. At least, that's what I assumed at the time.

I took a moment to inspect my surroundings. I was in a blank room with only a bed and a toilet to decorate it. Frankly, it reminded me of the room that the WPO had shoved me in all those years before. Pure wall that was unblemished and without decoration and everything.

I felt more than heard a slight hum that seemed to come from all around me. It sounded eerily familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had heard it.

"Finally awake I see," a voice spoke from behind me and I twisted my body and limbs in such a way so I ended up on my feet facing the speaker.

I didn't recognize the face. It was a man with a pale grey business suit on. He had faintly silver hair that was neatly combed to one side. He looked to be around high twenties low thirties. He currently held a smirk on his face, one that I was hoping to blast off with an aura sphere sometime soon.

Heck, I didn't want to wait. I created one and blasted it at him without another thought.

I aimed at the center of his chest. He was in such a position so that any form of dodging that he tried would still have the aura sphere hit him, and hopefully bury him a few inches into the wall.

But before the aura sphere even left my hand to travel the short distance, I felt it shrink tremendously. When I launched it, it dissipated completely into the air before traveling more than a foot.

I was stuck in the position I had launched the attack, frozen in surprise. The man, on the other hand, laughed and said, "Violent, aren't you."

I unfroze and growled at the man, getting into a threatening stance that made my intentions clear.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Not if you wish to remain conscious."

Stopping myself at his words, I used my not so little skill with aura to speak straight into his mind.

"I don't know who you are, or what you did to stop my aura sphere, but if you don't-"

He started laughing again before I could finish my sentence.

"You don't get it, do you?" He spoke with a serious expression. "You're not able to do anything to me with your aura because this room absorbs it. The moment you move too close to me, the people watching this exchange will raise the amount of aura it absorbs from you and cause to you pass out."

"So you are taking my aura! Trying to revive Team Styx, are you!?"

He grimaced at my words and said, "We are _not_ Team Styx. Let me make that **perfectly** clear. They were too ambitious in their plans and moved far too quickly and without thinking. We, on the other hand, have learned from Team Styx's mistakes."

I wasn't expecting them to not be Team Styx, but I really didn't matter. They were still some power hungry organization who was threatening me.

"So what do you call your little group?"

He grinned and a maniacal light came into his eyes that made the fur on the back of my neck stand on end.

"We are the ones who will rise triumphant from the ashes of this corrupt and evil world," he turned his body so a small patch faced me.

It was a picture of a bird that seemed to be completely consumed by flames, but unhurt. While some would mistake it for the legendary Pokemon, Moltres, most would see that it was a Phoenix. It was flying straight up with buildings destroyed and in ruins below it, while there was beautiful landscapes sitting on top of clouds, where the Phoenix flew.

"We are Team Phoenix! You are the thing that will aid us in creating the ashes from which we shall rise from!" He had his arms in the air, slightly spread as though he was speaking to a crowd that worshipped him and not a single person who was not in any way convinced by his spiel.

"You're nuts," I said in a deadpan tone, utterly destroying the fanatical theme he had set in the room.

He paused with a blank face, that morphed into rage. He lowered his left arm while raising his right hand into the air and snapping his fingers once.

A moment later, I felt the same feeling I had felt when Team Styx had tried to suck the aura out of me with that machine that exploded. It caused me to collapse, but I did not pass out.

The man looked at me with an expression of surprise and I saw him put his hand to his ear for a moment before scowling.

"What happened to all of your aura? We were told you had almost three times the amount you're currently holding all those years ago."

I couldn't have responded, even if I wanted to. But the words confused me. It felt as though I had less aura than when I had transformed before. I knew it wasn't the machine. The aura simply was not inside me. Had I lost some over the years? I couldn't really tell due to humans not having the same instinctual bond with aura as Lucario. Even someone with my experience wouldn't be able to tell easily.

The man, who was still scowling, waved his hand and the rate that my aura was being taken dropped to such a level that I was able to push myself up on shaky feet.

"While this will slow us down a great deal, it matters not. We can wait. You will regenerate aura even as we drain it away. As long as we do not take more than you produce, and keep you alive, you are a limitless battery."

"Screw you," I sent to him after summoning enough energy. I loathed the man in front of me, and I didn't even know his name!

"Hmmm. Rude. I think I'll leave you to enjoy a little more of our hospitality."

He turned around and walked through the wall, just like the room at the WPO, and a minute later, I felt the thing absorbing my aura jump a few notches. Not enough to feel numb or collapse, but it was plenty enough to make it feel as though the planet's gravity had tripled.

I shuffled over to the bed and barely managed to fall into it before it rendered me incapable of moving around. I fell asleep to the draining feeling, not sure what I would do when I woke back up.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

The sound of my alarm forced my eyes open and I moved to hit the snooze button for ten more blessed minutes of sleep.

Only the words, "-don't know who the male was, but several bystanders say that he appeared to be on a date before transforming," kept me from hitting the button.

My stomach sank when I realized that they were talking about me. I sat up and turned it up slightly.

"No one was able to get a picture or video of the supposed guy who transformed into a Lucario. We've tried to get in contact with Jason Simmons, the only other person who has turned into a Pokemon who currently lives in the same city as the guy who transformed. Unfortunately, we've not been able to establish contact with him."

They continued to speak a little more, but I tuned it out before hitting the off button.

I heard the sounds of a pan being set on the stove downstairs and knew my mom was preparing breakfast. I glanced at the clock and it read 7:45. The usual time my mom would get up on weekends.

My heart sank when I realized that my mom had yet to learn of my current condition. I got out of bed and stepped out of my room. I saw that the guest bedroom's door was still closed and assumed Andrea had not woke up yet. That was partly a blessing. My mom would not be pleased to hear the news of her son turning into a Pokemon secondhand.

I headed downstairs, thinking frantically on how I was going to explain my current situation. Eventually, I just decided on the, 'quick and painful', method. So it would be over with quickly.

When I got to the bottom, I got close to the kitchen door and said, "Morning, Mom."

"Morning Jacob. How many pancakes you want?"

I was torn. Pancakes was my favorite breakfast food and I was pretty sure giving her this news would ruin my chances of getting the heavenly deliciousness. On the other hand, if I waited until later to tell her, she might skin me alive. I held back a sigh as I realized that it was a no-win situation either way.

"Umm. I kinda have to tell you something."

The sounds from the kitchen went completely silent and she replied with, "Yes?"

"Well. It's kind of awkward. I'm not sure how to say it."

"What did you do? Did you think before you did it?"

Wait, what? What was she talking about? Did she think something happened last night? I blushed a little when I considered the possibilities that she may have been mentioning.

"Uh, not sure what you're talking about, so I'll just show you."

I stepped forward into the doorway and my mom's eyes widened in surprise, (and a little in relief?).

"Jacob?"

I nodded silently.

She blinked a few times before saying, "We'll wait until your dad gets home before discussing this." Then she turned around and began preparing breakfast.

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I was flabbergasted, confused, and a great many more synonyms of shocked, at her nonchalant manner.

"So... you're not freaked out by this?" I asked while leaning against the wall and crossing my arms.

"A little. But not as much as I probably should be. And get off that wall."

I rolled my eyes and got off the wall, per her instructions. (Seriously, it was like she expected that me leaning against the wall to leave a huge mess or something.)

"Oh. And Andrea turned into a Lucario as well," I said and she dropped the pan onto the floor. Thankfully, it was devoid of food.

In the silence that followed, I heard two things. One was the sound of the bed squeaking slightly in the guest bedroom upstairs. The other was the sound of a pen dropping.

"Lucy. Really?" I gave the Pokemon a glare and she smiled and drug away the pen she had probably been holding in her mouth. Probably held it all morning, just for that moment. She was loving like that.

The sound broke my mom out of her frozen state of shock and she got the pan.

I was alerted to Andrea's presence only a few moments before she walked up from behind me and in view of my mom.

She dropped the pan again and I flinched at the sound hurting my sensitive ears. Again.

Andrea gave a small wave and said, "Good morning, Mrs Simmons."

My mom blinked and said, "Uh, sorry honey. I can't speak the Pokemon language."

"She said, 'good morning,'" I translated and my mom nodded while Andrea facepalmed. Or is is facepawed?

"Morning dear. How many pancakes would you like?"

Andrea didn't answer for a moment, due to her shock at my mom's nonchalant attitude, but soon said, "Two please," while holding up two of her fingers to give a non-verbal answer.

"I'll take three, please," I said and she nodded before turning around and staring to prepare them.

I backed out of the kitchen and waved for Andrea to follow me to the living room. I saw she was wearing some new clothes (a red hoodie with all the Pokemon types shown in a circle and some elastic sweatpants) and I remembered that my mom kept some spare clothes in the dresser in the guest bedroom.

We sat awkwardly for a minute, and to break the tension, I said, "So. How are you doing?"

She gave me a deadpan look and I shrugged.

She rolled her eyes and responded with, "Let's see. My boyfriend turned me into a Lucario. My parents kicked me out of their house. And I can't speak like a human. Overall, not so good. When is your dad going to help us? Is he awake yet?"

I frowned when I realized that my dad was not up and about yet.

"Just a moment," I said before getting up and heading back to the kitchen.

"Hey mom, is dad awake yet?"

She paused, as though she was thinking, then said, "I don't think he came back home last night. He's probably still at the Sanctuary, taking care of whatever problem there was last night."

While it was a bit unusual that he wasn't home yet, it wasn't unheard of. He sometimes had to stay overnight to help take care of injured Pokemon or other problems. I once was with him when we had found a very injured Phanpy. We had brought the Pokemon to a cave and nursed it back to health. It took almost three days before we deemed the Phanpy healthy enough to take care of itself and went back home. It was from that experience that I put a lot of my dad's teachings about medical uses in nature to good use.

"Okay. Thanks." She nodded and went back to cooking.

As I went back to the living room, the doorbell rang and I made a pained face when I remembered that my friend was supposed to be coming over early today so we could hang out.

I went to the front door and opened it slightly while saying, "Hey Alex. Sorry but today is kind of a bad day to hang out."

"But have you heard the news! Someone's turned into a Pokemon! Has your dad heard yet?"

Alex was one of the few friends I had told about my dad. He was cool about it most of the time. This was the first time he had ever brought it up with such excitement.

"Umm. That's kind of the reason this is not a good day." I couldn't outright lie to him, he was one of my best friends.

"Whyyyy?" his voice developed a whining tone that made me roll my eyes.

"Just cause- oh screw it. You're gonna find out sooner or later."

As quickly as I was able, I opened the door and snatched Alex in by his shirt before closing the door. Anyone watching would have probably seen a blue blur snatching the guy inside the house and not much else.

He caught his balance after I closed the door and turned towards me with an annoyed look.

His expression soon changed to shock and before he could utter a word, I said, "How many pancakes do you want?"

I did this for two reasons. Partly because Alex had been over here so many times before that we were used to feeding him breakfast. And partly to interrupt his train of thought before his floodgates of questions could open.

"Three. And-"

"Mom," I interrupted him loudly, "Alex is here! Three more pancakes please!"

"Okay!" she answered back.

I then turned back to Alex and said quickly, "First off, ask one question at a time. Second, if you start to become annoying, I'm going to not talk. Okay?"

He nodded and said, "So how did it happen?"

I shrugged and headed to the living room.

"No clue."

As I walked into the living room, I saw Andrea go wide eyed and she jumped over the couch while yelling, "Jacob! Tell him to go away!"

"What was that?" Alex asked when he heard Andrea cry out in Pokemon tongue.

I sighed and said to Andrea, "People are going to find out anyways. Why not go ahead and tell them?"

"Cause I don't want people to see me as a Pokemon!"

"C'mon. You'll be human again soon, so why not enjoy yourself for however long it lasts?" At least, I hoped we would be human again soon. But it wouldn't have helped to show uncertainty at a time like that.

She was silent for a moment before saying, "Fine. I'm getting up." She didn't sound happy about it, evidence of this appeared when she stood up and crosses her arms with a very distinctive, '_laugh, and I will castrate you_', look in her eyes.

"Why is that Lucario wearing clothes?"

Andrea's eyes opened wide in anger at Alex's question and let forth a string of words that made me wish that I couldn't understand the Pokemon tongue.

Once she got finished, Alex turned to me and said, "I feel as though I was just scolded very harshly. Was I?"

"Basically, yes," I answered and quickly added, "Why don't we all just sit down and talk like sane people?" I mostly directed the question to Andrea, who glared in response before sitting down.

"To answer your earlier question, my dad is still at work. He'll probably be in later in the morning or sometime pretty soon."

She got a pained look, but nodded.

"Fine. But can't you call him and explain the situation so he can come here sooner?"

"His phone doesn't work in some areas where he works."

She got a curious look and opened her mouth to talk, but then my mom's voice rang out from the kitchen saying, "Food's ready!"

I had the polite nature to let Andrea grab her pancakes first. Alex, on the other hand, had no such restraint, and soon began gorging himself on the fluffy delights of my mother's cooking.

Once Andrea had grabbed her pancakes, I soon followed Alex's example.

Ten minutes later, and four pancakes down (I had gotten an extra one), I was setting my fork down and patted my furry belly with a content sigh.

Across the table, Alex was mirroring me, minus the fur and other Lucario stuff obviously.

I noticed that Andrea had hardly touched her pancakes and was instead swapping her eyes back and forth between my empty plate and Alex's.

"What's wrong?" I asked her and she just shook her head.

"I've never seen anyone eat with such..."

"Enthusiasm," my mom suggested. Somehow interpreting what she was saying without actually understanding her words.

"Yeah, let's go with that," she said with a nod and began eating at a very slow pace. Or maybe we had eaten fast?

I shrugged and put my plate into the dishwasher. Alex did the same and I said, "We're going downstairs," before leaving the kitchen with Alex (literally) on my tail.

We headed downstairs into our basement, which my dad had transformed into a man-cave a few years back.

When we got down there, I got myself situated on the couch (sitting in such a way to avoid smashing my tail) while Alex got in his usual spot in a chair.

"Begin asking," I said and he immediately began talking.

"How did it happen?"

"No clue."

"How does it feel to be a Pokemon?"

I had to think a moment before answering with, "Everything feels a little, 'enhanced', I guess. I can see better. Smell better. Hear sharper. I even taste things in a whole new spectrum! Though touch seems to be the same."

"Okay. Can you make aura spheres?"

I thought for a moment before shrugging.

"Haven't tried yet. I can try later. Next."

"Are you going to ditch the clothes?" While others would consider this an odd or uncomfortable question, I knew that Alex was simply asking the question because most Pokemon went without clothes. I had only seen Pokemon wear clothes during contests and rarely in everyday life.

I paused for a moment, then nodded, "Probably, yeah."

He gave a mischievous grin and asked in a sly tone, "And is Andrea going to ditch her clothes?"

Even while I felt the unseen blush take hold, due to the mental image that sprung forth, (seriously, why was I blushing at an unclothed female Lucario? I had seen Luna without clothes my entire life), I still said, "Bro, she's my girl! Don't be talking about her like that!"

"Being, _'your girl'_, can be debated right now," Andrea said as she walked down the stairs and into view.

Behind her, came Lucy.

I narrowed my eyes at Lucy and said, "Whatever happened to, 'I'm never going to come back down to that petty excuse for a man-cave ever again'?"

She got herself comfortable on the special bean bag that we had bought for her awhile back, and said, "What? And miss this?"

"There is nothing to miss! Now you better go before I use you for dart practice."

She snorted at the threat and made a pointed look at a small hole on the wall opposite of the dart board.

"That was an accident and you know it!"

Andrea connected the dots and laughed while asking, "How in the world did you manage to miss the board that badly?"

"To this day, I'm still not sure," I muttered and that caused Andrea to laugh even harder.

Lucy was laughing even as she walked back upstairs and I said, "Good riddance."

Alex let out a snort at that and a glare from me made him grin.

"Okay! I'm not a very good shot with darts! Can we accept it and get over it?"

Andrea sobered up quickly and her face went serious.

"Right. So. What do you do for fun around here? Aside from darts, of course?"

She snickered at me and I pointedly ignored her.

"Well, we are Pokemon. Why don't we try to use some moves and see how they work out?"

"Do you have some sort of indoor gym or something?"

"No, we have a back yard and a property with some woods that no one lives on."

"But we might be SEEN!"

I shrugged and said, "We might. But if we have Alex with us, he can just say he's our trainer. My dad keeps a couple pokeballs around in case he ever comes across an injured Pokemon. He can just attach them to his belt or something in plain view. No one has to know that we are human."

She thought about it for a little while, and then nodded.

"Fine. Let's do that."

I got Alex to grab two pokeballs out of the first aid kit. I would've got them myself, but I wasn't sure if it would try to capture me like a regular Pokemon if I touched it and didn't want to risk it.

I leaned into the living room, where my mom was reading a book, and said, "We're going outside to see if me and Andrea can use Pokemon moves."

"Okay. Don't get hurt."

"Yes ma'am."

I led Andrea and Alex a good ways into the wooded property that, to my knowledge, had never had any sort of house or structure of any kind on it. Someone technically owned it, but they had yet to do anything with the property, so I sometimes came out there with friends to hang out.

When we reached an area that was clear of trees, I turned around to them and said, "Alright. I know plenty of moves that Lucario can use. But how about we try aura sphere first?"

Andrea shrugged while Alex nodded enthusiastically.

"So how do we do it? Just think about it?" Andrea asked me and I shook my head.

"No. What you do is that you have to focus on making your aura into a spherical form by locating and tapping into your bodies natural reserve. At least, that's how it was explained to me."

Andrea gave me an odd look and said, "And who told you that? Your dad?"

"Err, yeah. He told me," I lied. Truth was, Luna was the one who had told me how she did it. Once we established that I had no control or talent with aura, the talk of it became slightly taboo in our household. But I couldn't tell Andrea that. I would have to tell her about how I had more Pokemon friends than human ones and that I could understand some Pokemon language.

She believed me, and nodded.

"I'll try first," I said and turned towards a clump of trees on the edge of the clearing.

I felt a hint of trepidation as I raised my paw to about chest height with my palm facing the sky. I had never felt even a hint of aura run through my system of its own accord or by my command. A multitude of 'what-ifs' ran through my mind.

What if I still couldn't use aura? What if I made a fool of myself?

Before the what-ifs could take me over, I concentrated on the instructions I had said only a few seconds earlier. I felt around in my mind, and with only a little poking around, I found something I had never noticed before.

The best thing I could compare the feeling to would be a lake. I felt its presence, just sitting there, ready to be used.

I concentrated and made a little of the 'water' come out of the lake and into the palm of my paw.

Moments later, a blue sphere appeared in my paw and I nearly jumped for joy at the elation that sprung forth. I didn't do so for for two reasons. One, I might lose control and it could explode in my paw. Two, I would look like an idiot.

Instead, I pulled my hand back and threw the aura sphere like a ball in the direction of the trees. While most Lucario could fire the aura spheres without needing to do a throwing motion, I had heard that you needed to practice using aura to give it thrust before doing so.

The aura sphere hit a tree and created a hole big enough to cause the tree to fall over. It didn't matter that it toppled the wrong tree, they didn't know that.

It was then that I jumped for joy and celebrated a little before calming down and turning back to them with a cool-as-a-cucumber expression.

"Your turn."

She smirked at me and we swapped places.

She imitated my posture and we waited for that blue sphere to appear. And waited. And waited.

Finally, she said, "The only thing that is happening is me standing here, looking like an idiot."

Alex looked at me and I said, "She said that she's having trouble."

He nodded and stepped forward while reaching for her paw.

"His hand was a little higher- Oww!" He accidentally scratched the back of his hand on her spike when he was retracting it after fixing her position.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to do that!" she cried out.

He waved his hand and said, "It's alright," understanding her intent, even if he couldn't understand the words.

I looked at the cut and it wasn't too bad. Hardly any bleeding. Heck, it looked like it was already clotting.

"It doesn't look bad-" I stopped abruptly when I noticed something strange. I felt waves of what I assumed was aura rolling off of Alex. Strangely enough, it seemed to come from Andrea as well.

"What? What's up?" he asked, taking a look at the cut to see if anything was wrong with it.

"Nothing-" my words were cut off yet again as I saw something on his head that should not have been there.

They were blue. They extended like 7 or 8 inches above his head. And they were not a part of human anatomy.

"Umm. Alex?"

"Yes?"

"I think I figured out how I accidentally turned Andrea into a Lucario."

"Oh, really!" He was so excited he didn't even notice when his ears lifted a little.

"Yeah. I accidentally scratched her while transforming. It appears the same thing has happened to you, but on a smaller scale."

He looked at his hands, and looked back up to me with a questioning look.

Instead of speaking, I just pointed at my own ears. He made the connection, felt his new ears, then started running around in a circle screaming, "I don't want to be a Lucario!"

Andrea snickered at the sight and I couldn't hold back a grin as he attempted to pull the ears off and kept saying, "Ow! Ow! Ow! Why isn't this working!?"

* * *

And another chapter ends. Whoop whoop! Remember leave a review. I like to know what you think, what needs improvement, and what you would like to see! So put it in a review or send me a PM, or heck, do both. And to guest reviewers, while I would love to answer your questions, I can't. There is no one to send the PM to, so the question will remain unanswered and will drive me (and possibly others) mad. So now that that is over, REVIEW!

UPDATE: 5/23/15. I've gone back through and fixed the mistakes I could find. Please tell me if I've missed anything.


	4. A little scratch

The return of the Cursed Gift chap 4

Here's yet another chapter. (My longest, I might add). To those who have left a review, thanks a million. And to those who have yet to do so, please do. Also, I have a new poll up on my profile. Please check it out. Some details are at the bottom of this chapter.

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Pokemon. This is for purely entertainment purposes. I only lay claim to the characters I create and the storyline.

Enjoy :).

Chapter 4

A little scratch

JACOB'S POV

I eventually got Alex to calm down by walking up to him, grabbing his shoulder in one paw, and carefully, oh so carefully, slapping him across the face with the other until he calmed down (being careful not to stab him with my spike). I never thought that method would be so useful.

He blocked my next slap and said, "Okay, you can stop now."

I let go and said, "Aww, but it was just getting fun," with a grin. He just stuck his tongue out at me and Andrea went from chuckling to full out laughing at the sight.

"You two are hilarious," she let out in between laughs, "Seriously! Start an acting gig!" She couldn't say more due to her laughter forcing her on the ground in a giggling fit.

Alex opened his mouth, probably intent on responding with a stinging retort, but he stopped with an odd expression on his face.

"Wait, did she just tell us that we should start an acting gig?" Alex asks me.

I nodded and then groaned when I realized what him understanding her meant.

Alex reached the same conclusion that I did and started shaking me while asking frantically, "Am I speaking Pokemon, or English!?"

I shook him off and said, "I don't know! They sound the same to me!"

He then turned to Andrea, who had sobered up and was standing back up, and said, "Well? What am I saying?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure either. I can also understand Pokemon now. So I'm not sure what you are speaking in. Maybe we should go and ask Jacob's mom?"

Alex nodded eagerly and started sprinting back. Before he got more than two steps, I grabbed the back of his shirt and stopped him in his tracks.

"What's the hold up? I want to know if I need to worry or not," Alex said, stopping and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Well you might want to cover those," I pointed at his new ears, which twitched slightly at the sudden attention. "People will assume we are just Lucario. They will not know what to make of a human with Lucario-like qualities."

"What do you expect me to cover them with?"

I paused, noticing his clothing's lack of hood and he had no hat.

"Good point. Let's just try to avoid people and get back to the house quickly." Alex nodded and began walking at a fast pace that had Andrea and me near jogging to keep up.

We arrived back at the house, seeing no one else on the way there aside from a few wild Pokemon. I went inside through the back door and announced myself with, "Hey Mom!"

"Hey honey! I'm in the living room."

I went to the living room with the other two on my tail (yes, still literally), and Alex immediately said upon entering, "Am I speaking English?"

She looked at Alex with a confused stare for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, you are. Why wouldn't you be?"

Alex sighed in relief and collapsed on the couch. This action caused his ears to become very obvious to my mom.

"Oh. That's why." She then sighed and said, "Jacob. Please stop transforming your friends into Pokemon. Or part Pokemon."

I sputtered for a moment before saying, "Hey! It wasn't my fault this time! It was Andrea who did it!"

"Well thanks for throwing me under the bus," she muttered in a miffed tone and crossed her arms.

My mom blinked and said, "Andrea. You just spoke English. I could understand you just then."

Andrea's eyes widened and she uncrossed her arms.

"You can understand me? Seriously?"

My mom nodded and I had a sudden realization.

"Guys, and mom, I think I just figured out how I turned Andrea into a Lucario and how Andrea gave Alex Lucario ears."

This announcement had all their eyes on me and I sat down on the chair that the couch and last chair (which Alex was in) faced. Andrea sat on the other end of the couch from my mom and waited for my explanation.

"I think, now that I look back on it, that I had a lot of aura running through my body as I was transforming. Since it was running rampant though my body with no control on my part, I guess some of it leaked out through my spike when I accidentally scratched Andrea. The scratch must have activated her own transformation. Since that little bit of aura was used instead to transform Andrea, I got to keep my vocal cords. That's how I was able to speak English even though Andrea could not."

Andrea took over and said in an excited tone, "And when Alex cut himself on my hand spike, some of the aura in my system must have leaked out! Letting my vocal cords return to normal!"

I clapped my paws together and said, "Exactly! And that little bit of aura must have caused Alex to start his own transformation. But since Andrea did not have a ton of aura running through her body, but only a little that she couldn't stop from leaking out, Alex's transformation did not go the full way. His stopped at the ears."

When I fell silent, my mom piped up with, "While that sounds like a pretty reasonable explanation, where did the aura that caused you to transform come from?"

I shrugged. "I'm really not sure. I guess we'll have to ask Dad what he thinks when he gets home."

The doorbell rang at that moment, interrupting further conversation.

My mom, knowing that none of us would want to get the door in our current states, got up and headed to answer the door.

She opened the door and we heard her say, "Yes?"

I woman answered with, "Hello ma'am. This is the house of Jason Simmons, correct?"

I could feel my mom holding back the urge to roll her eyes.

"Yes. He lives here. Unfortunately he has not come home yet."

"Oh. Well do you know when he will be home?"

"No. I'm not sure. Sorry."

"Well have you heard about the guy who turned into the Lucario last night? We want to ask Mr Simmons a few questions about that."

I had an idea at that moment. I knew that the media was going to catch me eventually and it was going to be an extreme hassle. But what if I could control the situation? What if I had the literal power to slam the door in the face of their questions? I thought it out for a few seconds and decided to do it.

I stood up and made a gesture with my paw for Andrea and Alex to stay sitting. They gave me confused looks, but remained where they were.

I walked to the front door and tapped my mom on the shoulder, who was in the process of closing the door, and whispered, "I think I have an idea on how to solve the problem of irritating reporters. Just let me do it, please?"

She hesitated, but knowing that I would not jump recklessly into a plan I had not thought out, she nodded and stepped out of my way.

I opened the door a little and called out to the woman who was halfway to her news van which was parked on the side of the road, "I hear you've been looking for me!"

The woman turned around with a confused expression, that quickly changed to an excited face as she walked back to the door quickly.

"Mr Simmons? Is that you?" She asked while waving her hand at the news van as though she was signaling someone.

"Actually, that's my dad you're thinking of. I'm his son, Jacob."

She seemed surprised for a moment, but her face changed to a professional mask that I immediately dubbed as her, 'reporter', mask.

"Do you mind if me and my associate ask you a few questions?" The mentioned associate was a man who got out of the news van with a large camera over his shoulder.

I closed the door a little and said with a frown, "I'll be happy to answer a few of your questions. But I must ask for you to keep the camera in the vehicle."

Thankfully, she made a few other hand signals to the man, and he returned to the vehicle with the camera. After being sure that he wasn't watching with the camera outside a window or something, I opened the door again.

She took this as a sign to begin and asked, "Do you know how you changed into a Pokemon? And do you have any plans on telling the world how you achieved this strange accomplishment?"

I knew the first question was going to be asked, and answered with, "I do not have any idea what caused me to transform into a Lucario. And that kind of answers the second question, I think."

She wrote some words down on a small notebook she had conjured out of her pocket and continued asking questions.

"Why did you run away when you transformed?"

I took a moment to think before answering.

"I was afraid," she looked on with expectant eyes, so I elaborated.

"I was not thinking clearly. I just felt like I needed to get somewhere safe. So I ran home as fast as I was able."

She nodded, wrote something else down, and asked, "Reports said that you were with a young woman at the time of the transformation. Were you on a date?"

If she could have seen my cheeks, she would have seen them flush. My eyes widening, unfortunately, gave me away, and she smiled in triumph.

"So who is the special lady? Has she also transformed? And do you plan on finding a way to make things work out if you are unable-"

I held up a hand, stopping her words and said, "Ma'am. Your questions are getting a bit personal."

She immediately apologized, "So sorry. I'll back off a little. Is that okay?"

I nodded, starting to feel as though I might regret this course of action.

"Have you spoke with any other reporters yet?"

"No. You are the first." She seemed to get even more excited at my answer.

"So no one else has asked questions from you?"

I chuckled and said, "Only my mom. She certainly had a lot of questions."

The woman laughed, but I could tell it was fake.

"And how exactly are you speaking English? I distinctly remember Mr Simmons not being able to speak to anyone else without a special device that communicated his thoughts when he was a Lucario."

"I have an idea of how, but I can't say until I get some more information." I knew I couldn't tell her because doing so would reveal Andrea and Alex in the process.

"Well can you at least give me something? The readers would certainly appreciate it."

I shook my head and began to tell her that nothing would change my mind, but then I noticed another news van pull up on the side of the road.

I frowned and said, "Your associate didn't call one of your friends did he?"

She frowned and shook her head. "No. He wouldn't. I told him beforehand to not do so. They must've got your address as well."

I saw the people in the front of the van begin pointing at me and talking excitedly. One of them got out a phone and began talking to someone with a lot of glancing at me involved.

I sighed and said to the woman, "I'm sorry, but if it starts to get too much, I'm going to ask you and the other reporters to leave."

She nodded, feigning understanding and asked, "Okay, but can you continue to answer questions?"

"I'll continue to answer questions for a little longer. But let's wait for the others. I don't want to have to repeat myself. I just hope they aren't calling more."

She gave me a pitying look that I could tell was real this time, and said, "Sorry. But they probably are."

I sighed and awaited for the reporter, a man this time, to hop out of the vehicle and walk quickly towards us. He was a rather portly man, and when he got closer, I said loud enough for him to hear, "I have to ask for you to please leave your camera in the van."

His smile faltered and he said, "Nonsense. The camera would love to see you. You wouldn't deny all those curious people a glimpse of your incredible repeat?"

I scowled at the man and said, "You are confusing me for my father. I'm Jason Simmons' son, Jacob. And no, I do not want that camera pointed at me. If you begin rolling, I will have to ask you to leave and only speak to this pleasant woman here."

I could tell the woman wanted the guy to push the camera issue and get kicked away. But alas, he waved for the guy holding the camera to return to the van.

He then got out a recorder and held it up to his lips and said, "Reporter John Pitts at the Simmons household where I have come in touch with the son of the legendary once Lucario, Jason Simmons. Jacob here has agreed to answer a few questions."

I started to get mad. I had done no such thing! But before I could say anything, he shoved it in my face and said loudly, "What did you do to turn yourself into a Lucario? Can you share these secrets with the world? Or is this an incredible hoax to make the Simmons name famous once more?"

I finally said, "First off, get that recorder out of my face before I smash it. Second, I have no clue how I transformed. And if you think that this is-"

"So you have no evidence to back your story of turning into a Pokemon?"

He interrupted me and I said in a cold voice, "You are no longer welcome on this property. Leave now, or I will call the police."

He faltered and tried to push more, "But sir-"

"Leave," I said in the same cold tone.

He paused, stopped recording, and walked back to his vehicle while muttering under his breath.

Even as he walked back to his vehicle, two more vans and one regular vehicle pulled up on the side of the road outside my house and people jumped out with cameras already pointed at me and reporters talking in microphones.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to cut this short," I said to the woman before shutting the door quickly and locking it.

I then went to all the blinds in the house and closed them, preventing anyone from looking in the windows and seeing inside.

My mom peeked out of the blinds and groaned.

"My idea did not work," I admitted to her. "Sorry, Mom."

"It's okay. We knew this would happen eventually. I just hope they go away soon."

The doorbell began to ring and I looked out of the blinds to see a small crowd of people outside. Most were armed with cameras, notepads, and fake smiles. Is it a little weird that I would have preferred an angry mob armed with pokeballs and with elite trainers at the ready than what I had to deal with?

I sat in the living room with a loud sigh and said, "Sorry. My idea didn't work."

"You didn't tell them about us, did you?" Andrea asked and I shook my head, much to her relief.

My mom joined us in the living room and said, "Maybe they will leave if we ignore them?"

I had a better idea. And said, "I'm going to speed this up a bit."

"Jacob! Don't do anything you'll regret later!" she said loudly as I walked up the stairs.

I went to a room that faced the road, and was consequently a little to the left of the front door. I saw that the road was clogged with vehicles now, most had news station logos on their sides. The occupants of said vehicles were currently huddled together, facing our front door.

I opened the window, leaned out, and yelled to the mass below, "I have to ask all of you to get off this property before I call the police!" I decided to start with politely asking them to leave. This scared off some, but a good ten people were not deterred and began shouting questions.

I ignored them and said, "If you do not leave, you will be trespassing and I will force you off this property!" To accentuate my words, I created an aura sphere in my paw.

"You have ten seconds to leave!"

One guy said, "But-"

"Nine!" The man that shouted, 'But', ran.

"Eight!" Half of them bolted. By 'Three!' my yard was devoid of people and the road was clear again.

I sighed, and released the concentration I was using to hold the aura sphere together. It dissipated, thankfully. I was worried it would accidentally explode or something.

I went back downstairs and said, "They're gone."

I sat back down in the chair I had been in before and winced as I crushed my tail slightly. After changing position, I asked my mom, "Have you heard anything from dad yet?"

She shook her head.

"Not a word. I'm starting to get worried. Why don't you go and check up on him? You can ask Luna and Narri if they've seen him."

"Who are 'they'?" asked Andrea. Her, along with 99% of all my other friends, did not know about how my dad worked at the sanctuary.

"Family friends," I answered, not necessarily lying.

"Yeah sure. You want to come, Andrea?"

She shook her head. "Thanks, but no. I'm going to go to one of my friends houses and use her phone to get in touch with my parents. I'll just tell them that I'm consoling Savannah after a bad break up or something." Me, Alex, and Andrea rolled our eyes. We all knew that Savannah, a friend from school, was overly dramatic when it came to break ups.

"Okay. But why don't you tell them the truth? Don't you think they might be worried for you?" I asked, voicing my concern of later parental fury at not being informed of her transformation sooner.

She shook her head, and said, "No. I think it would be best to just hurry up and turn back into a human. Then I'll tell them."

"But how do you make sure they believe you? If I told my parents I turned into a Lucario, they'd want some pretty concrete proof." My mom nodded in agreement.

Andrea looked down for a moment before perking back up and saying, "Let's have Ms Simmons take a picture of us together! That way, it'll be proof that this really happened."

We all liked the idea, so we waited for my mom to grab her camera and stood close together as she pointed it at us.

"Okay. Three, two, one-"

On one, I felt a painful sting in my tail that caused me to yelp loudly and reach backwards at the same moment she took the picture.

I fell on my face while holding my abused tail and moaning at the twin spikes of pain from my appendage and my now aching face.

"Lucy! That wasn't very nice!" My mom said, trying to be stern, but failing miserably as she was also holding back a smile.

I rolled on my side (avoiding rolling on my back as that would put pressure on my poor poor tail) and said, "What the heck, Lucy?! Don't I get just a little relief from your pranks because I turned into a Pokemon?"

Lucy snorted and shook her head. "Not a chance. And anyways, you've done it once-"

"What the heck do you mean, 'I've done it once'?"

Lucy clamped her mouth shut, and I looked at my mom suspiciously.

"Mom. I haven't turned into a Pokemon before, have I?"

Her hesitation answered it for me.

"What the heck! When did that happen!?" The pain forgotten, for the moment, I shot to my feet, waiting for her answer.

She got a pained look and said, "Well, you remember when you pranked Lucy by dying her tails different colors?"

I nodded, resisting the urge to snicker.

"Well... she kinda turned you into a Skitty while you were asleep."

My eyes widened and I screamed, "THAT WASN'T A DREAM!?"

A vague memory, half forgotten, rose up in my mind. I remembered how low I was to the bed, even as I was (for whatever reason) on all fours. I felt a strange feeling from behind me, and even as I turned, I felt the strange feeling move as well. I started chasing my own tail in an effort to discover what that strange feeling that hung behind me was. The door opened to reveal my mom, who gasped and closed the door. I was too occupied by trying to catch that nefarious, unreachable feeling, that I didn't notice the yelling in the hallway and when the Ninetails walked into the room.

The rest of the memory was a blur, and Lucy said, "You were so adorable," which she laced with high pitched sweetness that made me shiver at the memory. While the memory wasn't exactly unpleasant, no man should be forced to be a small pink Pokemon unless said male has committed the most heinous of crimes against the most pure of beings.

"I made Lucy turn you back and agree to not speak of it ever again. Though I said if you dyed her tails again, she could turn you into a Vulpix for a day."

I mentally thanked Arceus that I had made that a one time prank and had never repeated it.

After a minute of silence, (Andrea, Alex, and Lucy were grinning while I stared at the floor in mild horror), I said, "Well. How did the picture turn out?"

My mom took a moment to look at the picture, that Lucy had ruined, and burst out laughing.

I stepped forward and grimaced when I saw myself. I had a ridiculous open-mouthed expression of surprise on my face. That, coupled with the fact I had jumped forward at the same time I had reached both arms back to my injured tail made the picture one that was highly embarrassing (but hilarious when I looked back on it later).

Alex and Andrea came up behind me and looked at the screen. Then promptly fell to the floor, overcome with their laughter while I glared at them and Lucy, promising lethal retribution to the latter.

She yawned at my death glare and I gave it up.

After they ran out of breath for laughing, they stood back up and Alex said (still grinning slightly), "C'mon. I'll give you a ride to Savannah's house. I can explain the situation to her before you reveal yourself."

Andrea nodded, letting the grin fall away as we returned to the topic at hand.

Just as they were heading to the door, I said, "Wait!"

They stopped and I said, "You might want to borrow a hoodie, Alex. You know, to hide your ears."

Alex nodded with an embarrassed expression.

"Right. Thanks." He accepted a hoodie that was hanging on a hook nearby and put it on. As expected, the hood did an excellent job at holding his ears down so they might be mistaken for random folds in the material or something. Andrea's own hoodie was big enough to hide her obvious Lucario features. So there was little chance she would be discovered if she was careful.

Alex decided to head home and relax until either of us called him. His parents would be at work, and he had only a little brother, who was hanging out with one of his friends. So he was safe from his family finding out, at the time.

After kissing my mom and promising to text or call her as soon as I got in an area with cell phone reception after learning about my dad's whereabouts, I left. I saw Alex's vehicle pull out of the driveway just a minute before I did and head in the opposite direction I was headed.

ANDREA'S POV

I woke up, and after a moment of blissful ignorance, I remembered everything that had happened the day before. I laid there, staring at the ceiling as I let the memories of the day before trickle in.

THE NIGHT BEFORE

The date with Jacob had started out pretty well. While I could tell he was nervous, he did a decent job of trying to hide it. As luck would have it, we both even had chosen to wear the same color!

Everything was going good until he got those pains. Then his eyes turned red! It was pretty freaky and I asked if he was alright. He kept on saying he was fine, so I didn't push him too much. I kind of wish I had pushed harder.

Then, he transformed into a Lucario. I stepped forward as he transformed, I'm not sure why I did that. But as I did so, Jacob slung his hand out. He probably didn't realize he did it, but his new spike cut me across my hand and I retracted it quickly.

I saw his body grow fur and his bones change shape. It was exactly like the video of that guy who had changed into a Lucario all those years ago. What was his name again? Well... I didn't find that out until later.

Well, after the transformation finished, he stared at his paws and then his eyes shot up to me.

I said, "Jacob-" but before I could say more, (I was probably going to try to calm him down because I saw the fear in his red eyes) some woman screamed.

This must have really scared Jacob, because he immediately bolted to his feet and began sprinting out of the restaurant. I stood there in shock at what had just happened. Then, realizing that people would soon come out of their stupor and begin questioning me about my date transforming into a Pokemon, I tossed a few bills onto table and quickly left.

I drive home in a state of mild shock, but got there safely. After I made sure that the front door was locked, I went to my room and collapsed on the bed. I didn't even bother to worry about wrinkling my blue dress. I was beyond caring about that at the time.

It was about that time that I noticed a prickly feeling begin to take hold of my skin. It felt like the sensation you get when you go outside directly into the hot sun after exiting a cold air conditioned building. I shifted uncomfortably, and stood up to turn my fan on, thinking that I was simply hot.

I took two steps before the sensation turned to a very painful one that seemed to originate from my chest. I fell to the ground, startled by the unexpected pain, but it vanished only a moment later.

I laid on the floor, shivering not due to cold, but due to fear. I was terrified at what was happening. And I wasn't even sure what was happening! I got up carefully, not wanting to trigger whatever caused the pain in the first place. As I reached for the switch to turn my fan on, my vision went blurry and I stumbled backwards as a fire seemed to ignite at the center of my eyes! I cried out and twisted around as I rubbed my eyes, desperate to getting the burning sensation out of my eyes!

Then, without explanation, the pain stopped and I lowered my hands to see that the world was unchanged around me. I shook my head and decided to lay down and wait for my parents to get home. I thought they would know what to do. As I passed my dresser, I glanced at myself and froze when I saw red in an image that should have contained none of that color.

I looked closer, and sure enough, my eyes had turned the same red that Jacob's had before he transformed.

The same moment I pieced things together, I felt the pain explode all over my being. I must have hit my head or something on the way down to the ground, because the next thing I remembered was staring at the base of my dresser in near complete darkness.

When I regained consciousness, I put my hand to my head, and realized that my hand was no longer my hand. It was a paw. It had three fingers and a spike on the back of it. When I moved my fingers, it moved per my instructions. I shot up and stared into the mirror, recoiling at the sight that met my eyes. I fell on my butt, and promptly yelped as my new appendage insisted its existence by being crushed and letting me feel pain.

I stood back up, wobbling slightly as I got used to standing with the extra weight of a tail, and approached the mirror. This time, I did not recoil and instead inspected my new body with a sense of mild horror. I was a Lucario in every sense of the word. I had the chest spike, which was stabbing through what used to be my pretty blue dress. I had grown the same color fur in the same places I had seen Jacob's fur grow. My dress, like Jacob's clothes, had many rips and holes in it due to my body changing violently and forcing the cloth to expand and tear.

I heard the door open and reasoned that it was my parents returning home from their own little romantic dinner night. I ran out of my room and yelled, "Mom! Dad!"

Or at least, that's what I wanted to say. Instead, I heard myself making sounds that could not be mistaken as anything else but Pokemon language. Even though it was the Pokemon tongue, I could understand it easily. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for my parents.

My dad rushed into the room and he said, "What are you doing in my house!?"

He didn't recognize me. It was dark, so he probably could not see the ruined dress I had.

I tried to say, "Dad, it's me!" but only Pokemon noises came out.

My dad grabbed a bat and held it menacingly while saying, "Get out or I'll use this!"

I was so scared. I quickly ran out the back door and into the woods nearby.

After I stopped, I promptly fell to the ground and began crying. How else was I to respond to being threatened by my own father! Being kicked out of my home!

I cried for a long time. After awhile, I calmed down enough to begin thinking somewhat clearly.

It was clear that I was not going to be able to talk reason into my parents. They would just assume I was a wild Pokemon that had somehow got into the house. It didn't happen often, but it happened sometimes. I couldn't go to one of my friends and explain. I didn't want anybody to see me like I was!

The only option that I could see was going to Jacob's house. My reasoning was that he would be able to understand Pokemon due to his own transformation.

So, deciding that was the best course of action, I made my way to Jacob's house. I took a shower and put on some clothes that were not all ripped up. Then I got around to telling him what happened, I broke down again. He let me cry on his shoulder...

After that, I went to bed.

PRESENT TIME

The sound of a pan being set on a stove told me that someone was downstairs and was most likely making breakfast. I heard the sound of a door, probably Jacob's bedroom door, opening and the soft sound of someone descending the stairs.

I waited for about a minute before deciding to leave the room and head downstairs. Before I left the room, I put on some clothes I had found the previous night and had laid out for in the morning. I hoped they wouldn't mind. I was halfway down the stairs when I heard someone drop the pan. I then walked up behind Jacob, in full view of Mrs Simmons, and she dropped the pan once again, causing me to wince.

Determined to put down the rising awkward situation before it was an issue, I gave a small wave and said, "Good morning Mrs Simmons."

She blinked once and said, "Uh, sorry honey. I can't speak the Pokemon language."

I facepalmed (or should it be called facepawed?) while Jacob said, "She said good morning."

"Morning dear. How many pancakes would you like?"

I was shocked at her completely unfazed attitude, and it took me a moment before I held up two of my fingers and said, "Two, please."

"I'll take three, please," Jacob said and she nodded before turning around and starting to prepare them.

I followed Jacob to the living room, and after he walked away to see if his dad was awake, I heard the doorbell ring. Jacob went and got it, and a minute later, I saw him walk back into the living room with Alex behind him!

I jumped over the couch, and said, "Jacob! Tell him to go away!"

"What was that?" I heard Alex ask.

I heard Jacob sigh and he said, "People are going to find out anyways. Why not go ahead and tell them?"

"Cause I don't want people to see me as a Pokemon!" That was the truth! I didn't want anyone to see me like this. It was so embarrassing!

"C'mon. You'll be human again soon, so why not enjoy yourself for however long it lasts?"

I paused and considered it for a moment. It was true that this was unlikely to ever happen again. It was also true that I would be transforming back into a human quite soon as well. I decided to give it a try. If just to get out from behind that stupid couch.

"Fine. I'm getting up," I said as I stood up, crossed my arms, then glared at Alex with a look that said, 'Choose your next words VERY carefully. They may determine whether or not I will leave you with the ability to have kids.'

"Why is that Lucario wearing clothes?" Alex asked bluntly. My cheeks immediately became inflamed and I began spewing out a long line of abuse that I wanted to do to him. Once I noticed Jacob wince after a rather harsh threat involving- well. (Lets just say it would change the rating to M). I decided to stop.

Once I stopped, Alex turned to Jacob and said, "I feel as though I was just scolded very harshly. Was I?"

Jacob answered with, "Basically, yes," and quickly added, "Why don't we all just sit down and talk like sane people?" He mostly directed the question towards me, who glared in response before sitting down.

After we spoke for a little while, Jacob's mother told us that breakfast was ready.

If Alex had not been there, I could have sworn that male Pokemon eat in the fastest manner possible by putting the biggest pieces in their mouths very quickly and with little concern about little things, like breathing. But with the presence of Alex, it showed me that all males seemed to eat in the same fashion.

It was actually pretty impressive, while also being quite disgusting.

They finished much faster than me and left. Jacob's mom, apparently immune to the antics of teenage males eating habits, finished before me and started making sure everything was tidy. It was a little awkward, not being able to make conversation with her. But she made no comment on it and soon excused herself.

As I was finishing up the heavenly pancakes, Jacob's Ninetails came in and grinned when she saw me.

"So Andrea, that's your name, isn't it?", Lucy said while settling down on her stomach close to the table

I finished chewing the last bit of pancake and nodded at the Pokemon.

The fox Pokemon crossed her paws and laid her head on top of them before saying, "So does Jacob prank people at school? That's something I've always wanted to find out."

I blinked, not expecting the question.

"I don't think I've ever seen Jacob pull a prank at school. Why? Does he do it at home?"

The fox Pokemon laughed and said, "You don't know it, but me and him have been having a pranking war for years. He's actually pretty good," she said this last part with grudging respect obvious in her tone.

I stood up with a shrug and washed the plate while saying, "Well what was his greatest prank?"

She got an annoyed look and said in a low tone, "We do not speak of that day." While she said this, her tails curled themselves closer to her body and she laid a protective paw over them.

I rolled my eyes at her dramatic reaction and asked, "Where did those two go?"

"Down to the basement. Follow me." She got up and led me to a door that revealed stairs when I opened it. I heard Alex say in a low tone, "And is Andrea going to ditch her clothes?"

I bristled when I heard that, but before I could stomp down there and smack him around, Jacob said, "Bro, she's my girl! Don't be talking about her like that!" While I didn't particularly like being called, "his girl", it calmed me down enough so that I was able to put a smirk on my face and walk down the steps while saying, "Being, 'your girl', can be debated right now."

After talking again for a bit, and most of it spent with them trying to persuade me to go outside and try to use Pokemon moves, I relented and agreed to do so.

It was after Jacob had used aura sphere and I was trying (and failing miserably) to use aura sphere when it happened. Alex reached forward, presumably to correct my postures when he scratched himself on my paw spike as he pulled his hand back.

A moment later, I felt something strange come from Alex's direction and was stunned to see a new addition to his anatomy.

I couldn't resist chuckling at his antics when he began running in circles and pulling on his ears.

After learning of Alex's possible ability to speak to Pokemon, we headed back to Jacob's house to confirm it with Jacob's mom, the only one of us that we knew could not understand Pokemon and could speak English. We learned, much to my happiness, that not only was Alex speaking English, but so was I!

After Jacob shared his theory on how we transformed, which was pretty reasonable and sounded like the most likely cause of my transformation and Alex's partial change, that's when the reporters showed up...

And here's another chapter. Please review, it tells me whether or not you are enjoying the story, what you would like to see, and what I need to improve on. (Those who have made requests already, I'll be sure to put those in as soon as possible. I've yet to find a good place to enter them in and make them look good).

Also, I have put up a new poll on my profile. It has to do with the next Fanfiction I might attempt. So please vote (right after leaving a review!).

UPDATE: 5/23/15. I've gone back through and fixed the mistakes I could find. Please tell me if I've missed anything.


	5. The Ways of Aura

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 5

To those who have reviewed, thanks a ton :). Also, the reason I am including Andrea's POV is because a few people requested it of me (I'M NOT RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS. Not by a long shot.) And to those who are wanting to see more characters from Curse of the Lucario, never fear! I shall be bringing them in soon :).

The ways of Aura

Chapter 5

ANDREA'S POV

Alex drove to Savannah's house in relative silence. The only sound being the radio that was playing. Neither of us were really listening to it during the ride.

I kept the hood of my hoodie on and sat low in the seat so no one could see any of my fur or anything else. I did NOT want anybody seeing me. Especially trainers. All evidence pointed to me being a full Lucario (not counting the vocal cords) and I assumed that anybody could catch me with a pokeball if I got hit by one.

When Alex pulled into Savannah's driveway, I said, "Do you mind going and giving Savannah a little warning before I come to the door?"

Alex smiled and said, "Sure. I'll wave when you can come out." He then got out, hoodie up and covering his ears, and went to the door.

After ringing the doorbell, Savannah opened it and Alex and her spoke for a little while. I couldn't hear anything due to the running vehicle muffling everything on the outside. Then Alex waved for me to come out. I tried to have the hoodie and pants cover me completely before I hopped out.

I hurried to Savannah and she said, "Hey, Savannah."

"...Andrea Stone, is that you?!"

"Yes, it's me. Can I please come inside before someone notices me? I'll explain in there."

Despite her open-mouthed look of shock, she said, "Sure. Come in."

I turned to Alex and said, "I'll call you if anything comes up. Are you going to be able to hide your..." I gestured towards my head and he got it.

"Yeah. My parents and brother are not home right now. I can make sure they don't notice them until I want them to. I'll keep my phone handy so I'll hear you if you call or whatever."

I nodded and he headed to his vehicle as I went inside and waited for Savannah to close the door.

"Are your parents home?" I asked, listening carefully for approaching footsteps.

"No. Not right now," she said as she closed the door and waved excitedly for me to follow her into the living room where she sat.

The moment I sat, I yelped in pain as I crushed my tail (man it felt weird saying 'my tail'), she asked, "So YOU were the one who transformed that is being talked about all over the tv?"

I shook my head and spent the next thirty minutes explaining how my date with Jacob turned into a disaster, how I was chased out of my house by my dad, and how Alex now had Lucario ears and everything up to that point. I left out the part about Jacob's dad being THE Jason Simmons. If Jacob didn't tell people that little detail about his dad, then there must be a reason for it. I also left out Jacobs theory on how we got transformed via scratch. I was pretty sure that if I told her, Savannah would definitely try to scratch herself on my spike to see what it was like as a partial Pokemon. She was strange like that.

Savannah stayed silent for the most part, only interrupting to ask minor questions that I answered before continuing.

When I finished, Savannah asked, "How does it feel? Being a Lucario?" She was twisting her red hair around her fingers with a far away look on her face. Like she was imagining how it felt to be a Lucario even as I spoke.

I grimaced, and said, "Well, it's a real pain in the butt, or tail is more like it. (I had sat on my tail so many times when I had tried to sit down that it was almost always aching.) I've got to spent about twenty extra minutes just drying myself after a shower. And this fur makes me SO hot!"

Savannah gave me a look and said, "Well at least you still look very pretty as a Lucario."

I scoffed on the inside, but thanked her. Aside from my clothes, I looked exactly like any other female Lucario. (And it may have just been my own pride talking, but I thought that my breasts were a little bit bigger than a generic female Lucario's. Not enough to be super obvious, unless you spent a lot of time around Lucario's, but enough to draw my notice.)

"What really sucks is that my clothes don't even fit me any more. I had to borrow these from Jacob." With my hips being how wide they were, none of my human clothes could have fit me without ripping or having elastic in them.

She gave me a look of pity and said, "Ouch. Though if you are hot, then why don't-"

"Don't you even suggest that I ditch my clothes." I pointed my finger at her in warning.

She put up her hands in a surrendering gesture and said, "Okay, okay. It was just an idea."

I put down my finger and she asked, "If Alex is at his house, where is Jacob?

I shrugged and said, "He said he was going to visit someone who might know where his dad is. Some old family friends with kind of weird names."

I put my head on my paw and said, "I wonder what he's doing now?"

JACOB'S POV

After driving quickly to the Sanctuary, I parked in the spot that my dad usually parked when he was there on business or to visit. The lack of his vehicle being there caused me to worry a little, but not too much. There were a few other spots he could park and head into the Sanctuary, this spot was just the one he used the most frequently. Before I left my vehicle I glanced around, and after forcing away the urge to blush, stripped off my clothes and stored them in my vehicle.

While no one was around, and I knew that the Lucario guarding the village wouldn't let any Lucario wearing clothes enter the village, it was still a strange feeling. Being unclothed anywhere that was not private.

Shaking the feeling off, I headed into the trees and used a well worn path to make my way to the edge of the Lucario village that Luna lived in. Soon, I saw the opening to the clearing that the guards were posted.

The moment I entered the clearing, three sets of eyes were locked on to me as I approached.

The three there were three I recognized. Two were Lucario, one was still a Riolu. The two male Lucario were Riv and Lupe. I didn't know the Riolu's name due to not some talking to her.

Lupe stepped forward and said, "Who are you, and what business do you have coming here?"

I stopped and said, "Hey, Lupe. I see you were stuck with guard duty today."

Lupe took a step back, surprised that I knew his name when he assumed me to be a total stranger, and said, "Do I know you?"

I grinned and said, "Of course you do. I'm the one who suggested for you to replace a certain someone's cleaning herbs with pink dye about a year ago." (The result of said prank had a certain Lucario turn pink for almost a month before the dye wore off.)

Lupe's eyes widened and said in a disbelieving tone, "Jacob?!"

I spread my arms and said, "The one and only."

Riv stepped forward and said, "If you are Jacob, then tell us, how did I break my leg when I was a Riolu?"

I laughed and said, "Because me and you participated in a Game of Daring and you said that I couldn't climb the cliff next to the waterfall. When I did, you tried and fell. You were limping around like a newborn Ponyta for two weeks."

Riv nodded his head with a grin.

"Yup, that's Jacob. So how did you turn into a Lucario?"

I shrugged and said, "Absolutely no clue. That's why I'm here. I'm trying to find my dad. Has he been through here recently?"

Lupe shrugged and said, "We've only been here for about two hours. So he hasn't been through here for two hours at least. Beyond that, I'm not sure. Are you going to ask Luna?"

I nodded and said, "So do I have permission to pass?"

Lupe opened his mouth to answer, but Riv nudged him and said, "Let's let her do it. She's got to learn." Riv gestured to the Riolu nearby, who had been silent until now, and Lupe nodded.

"Okay, just like you practiced. Give him permission." Lupe patted the Riolu on her back and she stepped forward and said, "You have permission to enter the village. Do not cause any trouble. Do not break any rules. And do not leave without letting the guards know. Break any of these rules and you will not he permitted to enter this village again. Is this understood?"

I nodded and said, "It is understood. Also, nice job for your first try."

The Riolu slumped in relief and smiled, "Thanks. And you may enter."

I nodded and walked past them into the village.

I made my way through the village, keeping an eye out for both Luna and Narri and seeing neither.

I checked their house, I saw that they were not there. Stumped, I decided to ask where they were. I saw a Lucario walking past and asked him if he knew where they were.

He said that they were training out in the forest, and after thanking him, I made my way in the direction that he indicated.

After walking for a bit, the sounds of minor explosions and such things filled the air and I knew I was close to the training area of the forest. As I entered the training area, I was immediately slammed in the chest with an aura sphere that exploded on contact with my chest spike.

The explosion sent me flying back and I impacted a tree with enough force to cause a respectable dent in the bark.

I fell to the ground with my back leaning against the tree, groaning a little. That sucker had HURT!

"Wait! I think I just hit somebody with that last aura sphere!" I heard a voice shout out and a moment later, two Lucario approached me through the bushes I had been walking through a few seconds earlier.

"Oh crap! I did hit somebody!"

The voice that said this ran over to me and said in a sheepish tone, "I'm so sorry. Didn't realize you were there."

My scrambled brain finally realized who it was speaking to me and I smiled and said, "Well this hurts almost as much as that time you learned how to use bone rush. Ouch."

Luna, for that is who had hit me with the aura sphere, stepped back in shock before saying, "Jacob?"

I sat up a little straighter and said, "Yup. Hey Luna. How ya been?"

She blinked a few times, then narrowed her eyes at me.

"Okay, 'Jacob'. Tell me something only Jacob would know about me or I'll slam you with another aura sphere."

She created an aura sphere to back up her words and I held up my paws in a peaceful gesture.

"You had a huge crush on Lupe when you were a Riolu but got over him after you saw how much he was afraid of Beedrill after we pulled the prank involving berry juice."

Luna's aura sphere vanished and she held out a hand to help me up.

I accepted the hand and she pulled me up with ease.

Now standing, I saw that the other Lucario that was there was Zion, a Lucario that had evolved from a Riolu almost a month ago. We were ok friends, even if we spoke infrequently.

"Hey Zion, I see that you're doing well as a Lucario." I grinned and said, "Walking much better than last time I saw you, at least."

She crossed her arms and got a pouting expression, that caused both me and Luna to chuckle. (The reason we chuckled is because, right after Zion evolved, she had a little trouble getting used to her Lucario form, and was tripping over everything in sight. Needless to say, we brought it up as often as possible.)

"Luna! Zion! Did you hit someone or not?" Another voice, this one male, rang out from where Luna and Zion had come from.

"Coming Dad," Luna shouted back, telling me that the voice was Narri, the other person I had been searching for. Perfect!

Luna waved for me to follow her and said, "C'mon! I can't wait to see the expression on his face when we tell him!"

Luna and Zion jumped through the bushes while I followed at a slower pace, still hurting from being hit by the aura sphere.

As I entered the clearing that was pockmarked plenty of craters, I only saw Narri for a moment before his eyes narrowed in an angry glare and he disappeared for a moment before appearing directly in front of me by using what I recognized as extremespeed.

He slammed me against the trunk of a tree with his left arm pinning me to it and his right preparing an aura sphere.

"Luna," he said in a conversational tone, "What have I told you about talking with males that I haven't spoken to yet?"

With that one sentence, I suddenly remembered that it was about time for a very... awkward time of the year. Lucario mating season.

That would explain the fact that Narri, who had never said anything truly harsh to me, was holding an aura sphere to my face and was prepared to slam me with it with no substantial provocation on my part. I had never had to worry about receiving the brunt if Narri's

'protective father side' before, due to growing up with Luna (and being human, of course).

"Ah, Narri-" I started to say, but he snarled at me and said, "I'll deal with you in a moment," before turning his attention to Luna again with a much calmer expression.

Luna rolled her eyes (and I dare say that she seemed kind of embarrassed), as she said, "Dad. You've met him before."

The aura sphere flickered slightly, mirroring Narri's hesitation. He leaned in and sniffed me for a moment before leaning back quickly with a shocked expression on his face.

"Jacob!?"

I gave him a weak smile and said, "Yeah. Hey, Narri. Do you mind letting me go now?"

Narri let the aura sphere blink out of existence before taking his arm off of me and taking a few steps back while holding a very embarrassed expression.

"I- um- well..."

I held up my paw to stop the awkward attempt to apologize and said, "You didn't know it was me. I'm not going to hold a grudge over it."

Narri nodded his thanks, and said, "Okay. So what brings you here, Jacob?"

I stepped away from the tree, resisting the urge to rub my aching chest, and said, "Have you seen my dad lately?"

Narri thought for a moment and responded with, "Haven't seen him since about three days ago. Why?"

I frowned, and said, "Well, he went out last night to the Sanctuary to deal with something and has yet to come home. We tried calling him, but we couldn't reach him. My mom had me come here to ask if he spoke with you and spent the night or something."

Narri shook his head.

"No. I haven't heard anything from him since three days ago."

At the end of the sentence, Narri's eyes widened and he said, "Uou don't think your father has turned back into a Lucario, do you?"

I paused for a moment. I hadn't even considered the possibility.

I shrugged and said, "I have no idea."

Before Narri could say more, Luna spoke up, "Hey! When are we going to hear how you turned into a Lucario?"

I rolled my eyes and responded with, "That's part of the reason I want to find my dad. I have no clue as to why I turned into a Lucario, and I'm kinda hoping he knows how to turn me back into a human."

Luna acquired a hurt look and said, "So you don't like being a Lucario?"

I quickly replied with, "No no- wait! Yes! Wait- I do enjoy being a Lucario!" I was mildly flustered, trying to not offend her and get my point across.

She snickered at me, telling me that she was just playing around.

Narri and Zion rolled their eyes at our antics and Zion said, "Are we going to get back to the aura spheres now?"

Narri gave me an apologetic look and said, "Sorry, but I did promise to teach them how to properly use aura sphere. Do you mind if we wait a little while before trying to figure out how 'this' happened?" He waved his paw at me, indicating what 'this' was.

I shook my head.

"It's no problem. In fact, do you mind if I learn how to do it as well?"

Luna seemed surprised at my request, but Narri got a twinkle in his eye and he laughed a little.

"You remind me of your dad. All those years ago, when he had recently transformed, he was also asking me to teach him the ways of aura." He grimaced and said, "I'm starting to feel old, talking like that."

"You are old," Luna said in a deadpan tone.

Narri put his paw to his heart and said in an overly dramatic voice, "Oh! How the youth of today give no respect to their elders!"

"Narri, can you please teach us how to use aura sphere already and cut the dramatic crap?"

Narri let his arms drop and said, "Alright. First off, do you know how to create the aura sphere in the first place?"

I held up my right paw and created one with a little concentration. "Check."

If Narri was surprised, he didn't show it.

"Good. Now for the launching part. Have you used aura sphere before?"

"Only once," I admitted to him.

"How did you launch it?"

"Like this," I said before taking aim and lobbing it at a nearby tree. While it missed the tree completely, it hit the base of one a little past the one I aimed at.

To cover my mistake, I grinned and nodded, like I had achieved what I was going for.

"You missed from that close." Luna deadpanned and caused me to flinch. I could never fool her.

Narri seemed to hold back a chuckle before saying, "Not exactly the best method of using aura sphere, but certainly better than Luna's first try."

Luna groaned while Zion laughed and I just looked at Narri for explanation.

"She released it too quickly and it exploded in her face," Narri explained and I began laughing.

Luna pouted silently before grinning and creating an aura sphere.

"Hey dad. Don't you always say one of the best ways of learning is to see someone else do it?"

I gulped when I realized what she was planning on doing and began to run.

"Well I hope you learn quickly, Jacob!" Luna yells as she holds her paw out in front of her and launched it.

Much to my confusion, instead of it traveling in a straight line and hitting me, it launched sideways from where Luna was aiming and dissipated before hitting anything.

In the awkward silence that arose, I innocently said, "So. I guess that was a prime example on what NOT to do?"

Luna growled at me and started to say something that would have most likely been quite cutting, but Narri intervened and said, "Okay, Luna. That's enough. Let's work on launching the aura sphere-"

"Thanks Narri," I said I relief, before he completed his sentence with, "-then you can blast Jacob out of the forest."

Luna grinned and I gulped at the demonic (in my opinion) expression on her face. Zion just rolled her eyes at our antics.

For the next two hours or so, Narri taught us how to use a small amount of aura to thrust the aura sphere in the desired direction. Despite how many Lucario made it look, it was very difficult. Too much force in any direction, and it either; flew in the sky, slammed into the ground, or careened to the left or right into trees. Too much thrust made the aura sphere unstable and likely to explode in your paw. (Zion had a lot of trouble with this, her fur being singed was proof of this.) And on the other hand, too little thrust and the aura sphere dissipated before it hits its target or falls to the ground and detonates.

So, after you discovered your 'happy medium' (as I called it), you had to constantly practice to make sure you made your aura sphere exactly the way the situation that you're in calls for.

(While Narri spent about twenty minutes explaining, I decided to translate it into a much smaller space.)

He said that each situation was unique, and your aura spheres had to be constructed specifically for that situation. An example he used was for big, sturdy Pokemon. (He used Aagron as his example). When going against a powerhouse like that, you wanted to spend a little more time giving your aura spheres a bigger 'bang'. Meaning, you packed the aura sphere with more aura in the same amount of space as a regular sized aura sphere. For faster enemies that could dodge these bigger (generally slower) aura spheres, such as most flying types, you would create smaller aura spheres that moved faster than the regular sized aura sphere but packed a smaller punch.

He had us practicing all these different situations, that I hardly noticed when a new presence made itself known in the clearing.

"Narri, Luna!" A familiar voice rang out and I turned to see Luna's mother, Pip, walking closer.

I noticed that she was giving me a calculating look, and she said, "Oh. So has Narri found a male that he thinks is suitable for his little girl?"

If I was holding an aura sphere at the time, it probably would have exploded in my face from the utter embarrassment of that statement. As I was, it wouldn't have surprised me if a blush bled through my face fur. And if that wasn't enough, my tail had actually rose and the hair had stuck up to send a embarrassment signal to the world. I knew it was a signal of embarrassment after having seen Luna do the same after going through a few situations.

Narri rubbed his paw on the back of his head and said, "Pip, this is Jacob. He's turned into a Lucario."

Pip, the Lucario that was practically a second mother to me, realized what she had asked a few moments before, and promptly got a panicked expression on her face. (Luna, on the other hand, was making a weird sort of choking sound that I hardly paid attention to. She too, seemed very embarrassed by her mother's question.)

"Umm, well- I didn't know! But-"

I held up my paw and said, "How about we pretend you never said that, okay?"

She grabbed on to my suggestion like a lifeline and said, "So Jacob. How did you turn yourself into a Lucario?"

I shrugged.

"I'm not sure. That's part of the reason I'm here. I was seeing if my dad was here recently because he might know what happened to me. Oh, and how I turned my girlfriend into a Lucario as well."

"What?!" Almost everyone there said. (The sole exception being Luna, who said, "Girlfriend?")

"Oh. I guess I forgot to tell you about her. Oh. And my friend Alex also was partially transformed."

Narri had me explain what had happened, in full detail, from the point I had transformed to the point I had started driving to the Sanctuary.

After I told him everything, Narri looked at Pip and said, "Do you mind checking his aura? I want to know if there is anything weird about it that may be causing these people to transform."

Pip nodded, agreeing due to the fact that she was very in tune with using aura. While Narri could do everything a regular Lucario could do with aura at top efficiency, Pip was a master at observing and detecting aura. She could, when concentrating very hard, sense any living thing within a mile's radius. She was also very skilled at telling if a person was hurt or what a person is feeling, just by observing their aura. (I had learned of this a long time ago, when I had attempted to lie to her. I had done it once. Only once. Cue mental shudder.)

Well Pip got close to me and closed her eyes so she could concentrate fully on the task at hand.

She had only just closed her eyes and her aura sensing organs had been in the air for a moment before she flinched quite hard and nearly fell over when she took a few steps away from me.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" I asked, wanting to move forward to steady her, but not wanting to get closer in case I really made her fall.

Pip opened her eyes and rubbed them for a moment while saying, "It's your aura! It's like you're an inferno! Go on, take a look at him using aura vision."

One by one, Narri, Luna, and Zion closed their eyes and their aura sensing organs raised. And one after the other, they all had the same reactions as Pip. (Frankly, I'm not sure why they rubbed their eyes. From what my dad had told me, the images you got from aura sight pretty much went straight to your brain. Maybe my aura was so bright, them rubbing their eyes was just a natural reaction?)

Needless to say, I was worried.

"Will somebody please explain why you are all acting like that?!"

Pip answered, being the only one who was no longer rubbing her eyes.

"It's your aura. It's almost like it is a volcano erupting! It is bleeding from you at such a high rate that, well frankly, you should be in a coma."

Narri finished rubbing his eyes and said, "But, seeing as you are not in a coma, I would wager that your unstable aura is what caused you to transform your girlfriend. And somehow led to you transforming into a Lucario."

"Well do you have any way to reverse it? Or at least stop it from flowing so much so I stop turning people into Pokemon every time I accidentally scratch them?"

Narri and Pip looked at each other and seemed to have a silent conversation. Which, in all likelihood, they could have been using aura to speak directly into each other's head. But I had seen them do that before, and this seemed to be a conversation held with the eyes alone.

Pip turned to me and said, "Well we can certainly try. Though I'm going to have to go get a few others to give me some help so I can make sure we do it correctly."

I nodded and said, "I can wait for however long you need me to wait."

Pip nodded and started to run back to the village. I hoped she would be successful in finding whoever she was looking for.

Once Luna and Zion fully recovered, we continued to launch aura spheres. I steadily got better with the regular and stronger aura spheres, but was terrible with the smaller sized ones.

Zion, despite her quiet nature, was best out of us at creating the big aura spheres and hers seemed to have more impact on what she hit.

Luna seemed best at the smaller ones, and could create and launch them at speeds that could make an old automatic weapon slightly jealous.

Somewhere around twenty minutes later, we saw Pip walking back into the clearing with three other Lucario of varying ages.

Two of them were pretty old, one was male and the other was female. The other was female and seemed to be about our age. I had never spoken with the one our age, nor the older ones. So I knew none of their names. Though I knew that the younger one had to be pretty skilled in manipulating aura for her age, if she had brought he along for the purpose of fixing whatever was wrong with me.

When they got close, Pip said, "Go on, take a look."

I had a feeling that they had been skeptical of Pip's story, and the girl about my age closed her eyes and copied the reaction that everyone thus far had done.

"Yeah," she said as she rubbed her eyes, "He's bursting with aura."

The two older Lucario had not looked, but instead had waited and watched the younger Lucario's reaction. Smart move, on their part.

The older male said, "We had best get in position and see what the problem is."

Without another word, the three other Lucario got around me and began to put their paws on me before I yelped, "Wait a moment!"

They backed off and I said, "Can you explain what exactly you are about to do? And why you are getting so close?"

The older female answered with, "We are going to see if we can look and see what is wrong with you. We cannot do this if we are not touching you. Do you wish for us to continue?"

I looked at Pip with a questioning look, and she nodded.

I said, "Okay then. Please go ahead."

They had me sit down with my legs crossed as they all positioned themselves around me.

Pip was behind me. The old male was to my right while the old female was to my left. The younger female was in front of me. The older ones put their paws on my shoulders and Pip put her paws in the center of my back. The younger female put her paws on both sides of my chest spike, and I had to hold back a grin at her mildly embarrassed expression at the fact that she had to put her face so close to mine in order to keep her paws in place.

After giving each other some sort of non-verbal signal, they all closed their eyes and their aura sensing organs rose. Frankly, it was kind of creepy. Sitting there in the middle of them. They were poking around with what was basically my life force.

About fifteen minutes of sitting there, doing nothing, they all removed their hands at the same time and started talking using aura to speak silently.

I turned my head around a little and directed a, "Well?" to Pip.

She broke off from the conversation to say, "We think we may have a way to reverse this. Just give us a little while." She then returned to the silent communication.

Five more minute of this, and Pip said, "We're about to try to turn you back. If it doesn't work, we will at least try to cut off the flow of aura so you do not transform people with a simple cut."

I nodded my understanding, and they all got back in the positions they were in before.

Unlike before, about two minutes in, they all began to glow a faint blue. The faint glow then grew quite bright and they each began to produce what seemed like a "bubble" of aura that seemed to consume their bodies. Then, these bubbles began to expand and a minute later, the five of us were in a force field looking dome of aura that seemed to be competing with the sun to see who would be the brightest. I was immobilized by whatever was causing this. And I saw that my fur seemed to be rippling all over my body in a strange wave-like pattern, despite having no wind to disturb it. The four others in the bubble did not do this, only my fur was acting strange in that dome of aura.

At this point, I felt the aura being drained from my body. Despite the light show around me, I didn't feel much drain at all. It was like some of it was leaving, but for the most part, nothing was happening.

I felt a stinging sensation in my arms and, when I looked (I was able to move my eyes), I saw that my arms were beginning to return to normal. But, they immediately began to go back the way they were seconds before and I felt the aura around me seem to shift ominously.

Then the aura dome around us blinked out, and the four of them removed their hands from me and started panting, like they had been running for awhile.

The older female spoke in between breaths. "We managed to put something in place so that your aura will not surge when you scratch anybody. They might receive a little bit of aura. But it should not affect them in any way like it affected either of your friends."

"Man, that was HARD", the Lucario our age gasped. She seemed to be breathing the hardest and I thought I saw her shaking slightly from fatigue.

"Sorry," I apologized to her, but she waved it off.

"Practice makes perfect. Just please make it a priority to not be turning people into Pokemon. I do not want to do this on a regular basis."

"Vizin! Enough complaining! You should be thankful for having such remarkable prowess while so young. Now, let us be off." The male said as he made his way to his feet, also shaking slightly. The two older Lucario helped each other out as they made their way back to the village, with the newly named Vizin following behind.

I helped Pip to her feet and said, "thanks for helping me. I can see it took a lot of effort to complete. Are you alright?"

The reason I asked was because she was swaying in place and I was a second away from asking her to sit down and take a load off for a little while.

She waved my concerns off and said, "it was just very, unique. We never really saw anything like what we saw with you. I think all that aura that you were producing was the aura that has been in your body for your entire life. I believe that, whatever caused you to turn into a Lucario, removed what was stopping you from using your aura. And all the aura was bursting from your body, being released into people when you scratched them."

"But you made it so I will not do that anymore, right?"

She nodded and I smiled.

We spoke for a little while longer before I decided that I needed to get back home and tell my mom the result of my trip to the Sanctuary. I said my goodbyes and made my way back through the village and to my vehicle. The first thing I did when I got in my truck was to call my mom.

My mom answered the phone with, "Hello?"

"Hey mom. I just got back to my vehicle. About to head back to the house."

"Okay. And did you find out where your father is? He's not home yet."

"Narri and Pip said that they haven't seen him for three days. So he's not visiting them. And I didn't see his truck at the spot he usually parks. But that really doesn't mean much."

My mom took a moment before saying, "Okay then. You come on home. I'll try to see if I can get a hold of him in the meantime. But why did it take you so long to ask?"

"I'll explain when I get home. See you then."

"Okay," then she hung up and I jumped as I heard a knock come from my window.

I looked and saw that it was Luna.

I opened the door and said, "Hey."

"Hey, do you mind if I come over? I haven't visited your mom in awhile. I already asked my parents if I could and they said it was fine."

I grinned and said, "I bet Narri was a little too enthusiastic about getting you out of the village."

She glared at me and I gave her no respite.

"Being around all those males must drive him insane-"

"Yeah yeah, let's go."

I chuckled as she huffed and buckled herself in and continued to chuckle as I started to drive.

It may not be my longest, but this chapter is a respectable size, I think. And speaking of thinking, tell me what you think about this most recent chapter in a review (please). Always enjoy hearing that :). (Those who are asking about how Jacob got turned into a Lucario, and how Jason got turned into a Lucario (again), all will be revealed in time :P.)

And I have put up a new poll on my profile. I would ask that everyone please vote on it. I will put the choices below.

1 Another Pokemorph/Transformation Pokemon fic. 5 votes so far.

2 Or whatever the heck I think I should do. 4 votes so far.

3 Naruto. (Wouldn't mind trying my hand at this one.) 2 votes so far.

4 Other (please send a PM with whatever you have in mind and I'll possibly add it to the poll. If I've seen/read it.) 1 vote so far.

5 Harry Potter (it would be my first attempt at romance) 0 votes so far.

(C'mon guy's, (and girls) I'm really rooting for choice five! Fellow Potterheads, unite!)

And yeah, please review and Vote

Peace out ^-^.


	6. Kidnapping and Cuddles

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 6

Sorry for taking so long on this one. I just had very little desire to write and I kept getting distracted by other stuff. This one is probably my shortest chapter. But here it is, I hope you enjoy it. (Also, I hope you enjoy the name of the chapter. You'll find out what it means soon enough ;) So read on.)

Disclaimer: I'm not sure if I said so in the last chapter, but I do not own Pokemon. This applies to this chapter and all those before (and after) this one.

* * *

Kidnapping and Cuddles

Chapter 6

JACOB'S POV

I resisted the urge to poke fun at the fact that Narri was in overprotective-father mode with Luna on our way back to my house. Mostly cause I was afraid she would smack me upside the head with a bone rush or something equally as painful.

We talked about stuff we had seen or done in the three weeks we had not seen each other in.

One of her stories, which involved an awesome party with a Ludicolo and a Riolu evolving halfway through an intense dance competition, made me laugh so hard that I nearly ran us off the road.

After that, while driving a little more carefully, I felt my phone vibrate and handed it to Luna.

"Can you see who's texting me?"

She nodded and took the phone.

"It says it's Andrea. Want me to read it to you?"

"Yes please."

I heard the click of her opening the message and she said, ""I'm at Savannah's house. Have you found your dad yet?", Do you want me to respond with anything?"

"Yeah. Please send back, "no. I couldn't find him. We're about 10 minutes from Savannah's house.""

I heard the steady clicking as she typed the message surprisingly fast for having only three fingers.

A few minutes later, Andrea sent back, "who's "we"? And I'll run out to you when you arrive. Please have the door unlocked."

"Want me to send anything back?", Luna asked after reading the message to me.

I shook my head.

"Nah. We're only a few minutes from picking her up. She can find out when she gets in. Do you mind moving to the back seat so she can get in faster?"

"No problem. Just a second." I stopped at a stop sign and she took the opportunity to unbuckle and move herself to the back seats. As she did so, she whacked me in the nose with her tail and she snickered at my loud, "Oww!"

I nurse my wounded snout and said in a overly dramatic tone, "oh how even the best of friends turn against one another in the end! Oh the calamity!"

She smacked me upside the head before leaning back and buckling herself in.

As I started to accelerate, I jumped as I felt Luna pull on my tail. I had poked it through the gap in between the seat and the backrest, and it was right beside Luna.

"Stop that! I'm trying to drive here."

She released my tail with a huff and we drove in silence for the last few minutes of the ride.

As I pulled into the driveway, I saw the door to the house open and close very quickly and only a moment passed before the passenger side was occupied by a certain hoodied (yes, hoodied. As in wearing a hoodie) individual.

"Hey Andrea. This is Luna," I said while waving my hand towards Luna, who smiled at Andrea. Andrea, instead of looking back at Luna, seemed to pull her hoodie around her tighter and she seemed strangely apprehensive.

"Umm, Jacob. Is she trustworthy?"

"Uhh, yeah. We've been friends for a very long time. I can trust her with just about everything."

Luna piped in and said, "don't worry about being embarrassed. There's nothing to be ashamed about."

Andrea finally turned around and looked at Luna.

I saw Andrea's eyes widen and then narrow as she turned to me and smacked me on my head with her paw, hard.

"You transformed someone, again!? You transform anyone else into a Pokemon while visiting them?"

I held up my paws in a, "please stop, I surrender," gesture.

"I didn't turn her into a Lucario. She was already a Lucario when I got to her."

Her eyes widened again and she said, "you transformed before he even got to you?!"

There was a moment of complete silence as me and Luna processed her words.

We then proceeded to gut-busting laughter that didn't stop for a long time, despite Andrea's angry demands to know what was so funny.

Finally, I managed to say, "she's always been a Pokemon."

Andrea looked at Luna with a weird expression on her face and said, "you have a friend that's a Lucario?"

I nodded and pulled out of the driveway as I said, "yeah. We've been friends ever since I was really young. You know that movie that is based of my dad?"

"Vaguely, but yes. What about it?"

"Well Narri, the Lucario that my father was (and still is) friends with, is her dad."

"Oh," she said in a little voice.

A silence started to build, but Luna said, "by the way, my mother made it so Jacob will stop transforming people. So you won't have to worry about him doing that anymore."

Andrea gave a sigh of relief and said, "that's good. Though I wonder if we're going to be able to help Alex with his," she gestured at her own head, "problem."

I shrugged and said, "I think I should probably go to Luna's mom and see if she can do anything to help him."

Andrea nodded. Not saying anything.

We drove a little more when Andrea said, "Jacob."

"Yes?"

"Why are you not wearing pants?"

I looked down, and noticed that, hey. I really was not wearing anything. I hadn't even noticed until she pointed it out.

"Cause they do not let Lucario who wear clothes into the village where Luna lives. And I forgot to put them back on."

"You forgot to put your pants back on," Andrea said carefully, pointedly not looking in my direction.

"Yeah. And I have to say, it's quite comfortable."

Andrea just sort of squeaked at my words and I heard Luna's voice via aura, "she is feeling embarrassed. Don't push her or she's going to get angry."

I nodded. Not knowing how to respond via aura, and said out loud, "but if it makes you uncomfortable, I'll make sure to wear something while around you. Okay?" I made my voice gentle, so she would know that I was aware of her feelings and willing to do something to fix what was wrong.

She nodded, still looking away, and said, "please do."

I heard Luna's voice in my head, "she's grateful. Nice job defusing that situation."

I nodded again, cursing the fact that I couldn't respond in the same fashion.

We rode in silence until I pulled into the driveway and I said, unnecessarily, "we're here!"

Andrea glared at me for a moment before her eyes widened and she whipped her head in another direction while I had the distinct feeling she was blushing under her fur.

I hopped out of the vehicle, quickly put on the shorts I had brought, and unlocked the door.

"Hey, mom!", I said loudly and I heard her respond with, "hey honey!"

I kept the door opened for Luna and Andrea. One who strolled in, standing tall in a familiar environment. The other, bolting in while slightly hunched as though to hide herself from the world.

I closed the door and said to my mom, "I brought Luna with me. I hope you don't mind."

She walked around into view, "it's no problem. So what did you do while at the Sanctuary? And did you figure out where your father has gone?"

We all gathered in the living room (Andrea sat on the other side of the couch that I sat on and Luna sat in a chair while my mom sat in the other chair available) and I told her how Narri had taught us how to use aura sphere properly. I left out the awkward part when Narri didn't recognize me at first. Along with the comment that Pip had said before she knew it was me.

"And Narri said he hasn't seen dad in awhile. So I don't think he went to the village. Have you tried calling him again?"

"Yeah. It's not getting through. I'm getting really-" she was interrupted by the doorbell and she rose to go answer it with a, "who could be calling at this hour?"

Luna, Andrea and me stayed silent, listening in on the visitor.

We heard the door open, and I perked up when I heard, "oh. Good evening Rick."

"Evening, Ms Simmons. Can I come in?"

I heard my mom hesitate and said, "go ahead, mom!"

Hearing me give the okay, she said, "come on in. There's something you should probably know anyways."

"Oh? What?"

I couldn't see her, but she was probably gesturing for him to move into the living room. Evidence of this was supported when he walked in and his eyes widened when he saw the three of us.

"Uh. Hello?" We must have been an odd sight. One Lucario grinning at him (me), one who waved at him before turning back to the magazine she had been reading (Luna), and one who was trying her hardest to not be noticed (need I really clarify?).

"Hey Rick," I said and he got a confused look.

"Do I know you?"

I flinched and said, "yeah. It's Jacob. Did you have something to tell us?"

Rick opened his mouth for a moment, but banished the question and instead said, "have you been able to get in contact with your father?"

Me and my mom acquires worried expressions.

"No. Have you heard from him? We've had no luck."

Rick got a serious expression and my stomach tightened with renewed worry for my dad.

"He has been kidnapped. We're not sure if it's a remnant of Team Styx or another group entirely."

It felt as though I had taken a full powered aura sphere at point blank range straight to my stomach. It felt like all the air had suddenly been driven out of my lungs.

Then I realized something else.

It was partially my fault. He had asked if I had wanted to go with him. I had blown him off. Instead going on my date.

If I had come, I might have been able to help him fight them off, or helped him escape, or or, SOMETHING!

"You would have been captured, and in the same situation as your father, Jacob," Luna said via aura, staring into my eyes in total seriousness. "If you had gone with him. We would not only be worried about him, but you as well. So don't you dare feel guilty about it."

Rick spoke up (she must have projected it to everyone, not just me), "she's right. The people who captured him had some serious technology. You wouldn't have been able to help him even if you were there. A Ranger who was there barely managed to stay out of their sights and slip away to inform us about what happened."

I wiped my watering eyes and said, "so. What do we do?"

He paused, then answered with, "you will do your best to be careful that no one tries to kidnap you. Be wary at all times and make sure that you never go anywhere without a few people around you."

I opened my mouth to protest, but he said, "and don't you dare try to do anything on your own to try to find your dad. Let the WPO and the Rangers do our jobs. We won't go any faster with you getting kidnapped. So don't take unnecessary risks!"

My voice was frozen, surprised at him raising his voice. But I nodded and he said, "good. Now I want you to tell me, how exactly did you turn into a Pokemon? And who these two are?"

I gestured to Luna, "this is Luna. She's always been a Lucario." Luna held up to fingers in a "peace" sign before continuing to read her magazine. (She had stopped when we were told about my dad being kidnapped, but went back to it after assuring me that I couldn't have helped and should not feel guilty.)

"And this is Andrea. My girlfriend-"

"That can be debated," she interrupted me and I flinched.

"-I accidentally transformed her by-", I explained how she had been transformed by me scratching her and how she had partially transformed Alex.

As I finished up my explanation, his phone vibrated and he excused himself to the kitchen to answer it.

He was in there for a minute before returning to the living room and saying, "I'm really sorry, but I have to be getting back. I'll keep you updated on any changes and please tell me if anything happens as it happens. It may seem insignificant, but it could help us locate your father. So nothing is too small."

After saying this, and receiving confirmations from us, he left.

We sat there. I was still in a state of mild shock along with my mom. Luna acted nonchalant, but I had known her long enough to see that she was very worried. Andrea looked a little afraid.

I scooted over and put my arm around her and squeezed gently, trying to comfort her without words. I was worried that she would push me away, but instead moved a bit closer to me and I took it as a good sign. She put her arm around me and squeezed me back while leaning her head against my side and closing her eyes. I felt a little better when I saw her face become a little more peaceful and was grateful that I managed to make her feel better.

My mom excused herself with a blank face and I heard her bedroom door close a minute later. It worried me a little that she didn't even poke fun at how I was acting with Andrea.

I heard Luna's voice a moment later in my head, "do you mind if I go get a shower? I'm starting to feel as awkward as a Phyduck in a group of Kadabra."

I couldn't nod at her without moving, so I blinked one eye slowly and she nodded.

She quietly went upstairs and I heard the water begin running a moment later.

It wasn't until about three or so minutes later that I realized something.

Andrea had fallen asleep while leaning against me. I felt her warm body against mine and, before I really knew it, I had fallen asleep holding her against me.

* * *

A tiny dot of sunlight, probably sneaking through the blinds on one of the windows, woke me up by shining directly on my closed eye.

First, I noticed that it was morning. Then, I noticed that I wasn't in my bed. Finally, I noticed that I was not alone.

At some point in the night, I had tilted my head so my cheek laid gently on top of Andrea's. We had slept through the night with her in my embrace. I felt this strange, protective, feeling in my chest as I lifted my head and looked at her still sleeping form. I had a weird fluttering feeling when I looked upon her peaceful face and tried to memorize every detail of it.

As my mind came back online, I blushed when I realized that my hand had, during the night, slipped down her side and was very close to forbidden territory. I moved it back to a safer area and I was disappointed when I heard the flow of her breathing change, indicating that she was waking up.

I freaked out for a moment. Should I pretend to be asleep? Should I tell her good morning? Apologize to her immediately?

As she slowly woke up, I decided on the second option.

I said in the softest voice I could muster, "good morning."

She stiffened for a moment before relaxing again and grunting something that I took as a, "and a pleasant morning to you, my lovely boyfriend whom I love so dearly."

(Okay. Maybe she wouldn't say it like that, but something like that.)

When she woke up a little more, I felt her lift herself off of me and had to restrain myself from moving us to make us closer again.

She rubbed her eyes and said, "what time is it?"

I glanced at a clock. "8:30."

She nodded slowly, then stiffened and her eyes burst open and she said, "did we, umm..."

"You fell asleep and I didn't want to wake you up," I said while resisting the urge to blush at the fact that I had spent the night cuddled with her.

She mumbled something that I didn't catch and I said, "what?"

She repeated herself, a little louder now, "thanks for not waking me up."

I smiled and said, "so does this mean I'm totally forgiven for turning you into a Pokemon?"

She looked at me with a little grin and said, "fine. You are forgiven."

I smiled widely and she pointed her finger at me, "but you still have to find a way to turn us back human. Got that."

I nodded, still grinning, and said, "I promise. No worries."

She nodded and lowered her finger.

"I'm going to go take a shower. Can you lay out some clothes for me?"

"Sure thing."

We stood at the same time and I stood still to let her walk past me towards the stairs.

As she went by, she quickly gave me a peck on the cheek and then continued on her way.

Me? I sat down and touched the spot she had kissed. The area around it seemed to buzz and I felt surprise that was soon replaced by a sense of quiet elation.

I couldn't help but grin as I stood and got a few clothes from a pile I had made in my room. I still grinned as I put the clothes outside the bathroom door and the smile persisted even as I prepared a breakfast of eggs and toast for the four of us.

Luna, roused by the sound (and smell) of cooking, shambled into the kitchen and I said in a happy tone that was quite unlike me, "morning, Luna."

Luna sat down at the table and laid her head back down to go back to sleep. I rolled my eyes.

She had a habit of going into semi-consciousness just long enough to get to the table before she drifted back off to sleep. That way, she woke up to find food in front of her.

As I finished up the first batch of eggs, I put a few pieces of toast on a plate with the eggs and put the plate next to Luna. I saw her nose twitch for a moment before her eyes opened and she began eating without a word.

I chuckled at her and continued to make breakfast. My mom came in later and accepted some eggs with a smile and a knowing wink that caused my smile to falter and turn into a blush when I realized that my mom had probably seen us in all our cuddely glory.

I shoved it to the side, while silently praying that she had not taken pictures of us. I knew she would do it. I could picture her easily, holding the camera while quietly saying, "awww, my baby is growing up."

I made a mental note to question her about that later, refraining from doing it then due to Andrea walking in.

I set a plate of still steaming eggs in front of her and she nodded her thanks.

I finished up my own eggs last and managed to eat slow enough so that I only beat Andrea by a few minutes. Luna had finished eating a good while ago and was laying on the couch, snoozing.

I put my dishes in the sink and excused myself to take a quick shower.

After during myself off, and making sure to wear a pair of shorts, I went back downstairs to find Alex sitting with Luna and Andrea as they watched tv.

"Hey Alex," I greeted him to catch their attention.

He perked up when he saw me and said, "so did you find a way to get rid of these?" He made his Lucario ears twitch as he pointed at them to make it clear what he meant.

I nodded.

"Yeah. I think we might have a way. We'll have to go to the Sanctuary and ask Pip, Luna's mom, if she can turn you normal."

Alex shot up and said, "well let's go! I want to go ahead and get rid of these, it's hot wearing a hood all the time."

I rolled my eyes and said to Andrea, "do you want to come? Maybe she can turn you back into a human?"

She frowned and said, "I wish I could. But I already asked your mom to drive me to my house and help me explain the situation to my parents. But go ahead without me. I'll probably go if it does work with Alex."

I nodded with a feeling of regret.

"Okay. Let me just tell my mom that we're leaving and we can go."

Alex nodded and Luna waved her acknowledgement.

As I walked to my parent's bedroom, Lucy whispered from a spot on the floor she was laying down on, "you were so adorable!"

I scowled at the Ninetails and she pouted while saying, "well you don't have to worry about your mom taking pictures of you. She didn't leave her room all night."

I stopped scowling, but held back from thanking her when her pouting look turned into a wide grin, "me, however. I was taking pictures from every angle possible."

I narrowed my eyes at her and said, "that's low. Getting a guy when he's asleep."

She snorted.

"Like you've never pranked me while I was asleep."

I considered that, then nodded with a, "fair enough."

After informing my mom that we we're going to the Sanctuary, and promising to be careful, Luna and Alex got in my vehicle and made our way to the Sanctuary.

* * *

JASON'S POV

I was only conscious for a short while. It was one of three times they allowed me to come to full consciousness each day. They had food left by my bed, and they gave me just enough time to eat it before turning the machine back up to its normal setting and forcing me back into slumber.

As I ate, I carefully added a little more of my dwindling supply of aura to the small area of my brain that I had managed to separate from the draining affects of the machine. I judged the amount of aura to be close to the amount I would need to establish a connection. It wouldn't last long. And it would probably force me into a coma for a few days. But if it let me warn my family, then so be it.

I felt the draining affects increase slightly, indicating that I had about a minute before it would return to normal levels. I finished the food quickly and managed to lay down before the ever present drain forced my consciousness into submission.

My last thoughts before I succumbed were, "I hope they are okay."

* * *

Okay. Sorry for the short chapter. But please review and tell me what you think about it. Also, to those who have requested for me to put in certain Pokemon, I SWEAR, I'm going to do it! Just as soon as I can, I will. And I'm still open to suggestions/requests. Just send them in via PM or leave them in reviews and I'll PM you to say if I can/will do that or otherwise. (Guests. While I love reviews, please do not ask a question and expect me to somehow answer you. There is nowhere to send a message to.) And to those who have yet to vote on the poll, please visit my profile and vote!

And yeah, that's about it. Talkingbirdguy out.


	7. Decaf aura, please

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 7

Okay, so newest chapter! Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing. It's a really uplifting to hear (read) what you think about this. And when you get done with this chapter, please be sure to read the stuff at the bottom. It's kinda important.

But without further ado, enjoy :).

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Decaf aura, please.

* * *

Chapter 7

JACOB'S POV

We traded funny stories as we drove to the Sanctuary, to pass the time. Luna gave Alex a good laugh by telling him the story of the Riolu that evolved while in a dance competition with that Ludicolo. Alex countered by telling her about his cousin who had a Phanpy that evolved into a Donphan while being given a bath and was stuck for awhile until they managed to cut the bath out from around it. Due to this experience, the Donphan had a slight fear of baths and water in general that made it very difficult for Alex's cousin to keep it clean.

Even though I had heard it before, it still caused me to laugh.

Despite the fact that Luna and Alex had never met, they got along splendidly.

As we calmed down from the funny story, Alex said, "Jacob?"

"Yeah?" I noted the uncomfortable undertone in his voice and paid closer attention.

"You said that Lucario are not allowed to wear clothes in the village, right?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah. What about it?"

"Well. I'm part Lucario. Will I have to-"

Me and Luna both began laughing hysterically at what he was asking before he could even complete the question.

I blinked away the tears that had started to cloud my vision and said with a grin, "I think you be able to stay clothed. In fact, please do your best to stay fully clothed. I don't want to have that image burned into my brain."

Alex sighed a loud sigh of relief that caused a new round of chuckles from Luna and an unrestrained bout of laughter from me.

This lasted until I parked and calmed down enough to only let out the occasional chuckle.

I took off my shorts and stored them in my vehicle before we made our way into the woods. I noticed that Alex had his hood down and his ears were plain to the world.

I got his attention and said, "you might want to cover those until they need to be out. We don't want to have to deal with any more questions then we need to."

Alex shrugged and pulled the hood over his head, effectively hiding his ears.

We continued down the path and I said to Luna, "do you think Pip and the others will be up to helping Alex? She looked pretty tired after helping me."

Luna nodded and said with confidence, "they should be alright. And Alex won't be as difficult as you."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, interested in how I so difficult and how Alex wouldn't be.

"Because, well," she seemed to fish for the correct words before saying, "I look at him using aura vision and see a bright spot on his head while the rest of him has the usual amount of aura a human usually has. I look at you, and its like looking directly at the Sun! All of your regular aura has the transforming aura spread throughout it. When they tried to turn you back into a human, they tried to drain you of the aura that transformed you into a Lucario and leave your regular amount of aura behind. But since there is so much of the transforming aura in you, they just made a barrier that made it so you didn't leak as much aura. So you wouldn't transform anybody else with a little scratch. With Alex, since he only has that little bit of transforming aura, they can probably drain him of that little bit without too much problem."

I nodded and said, "okay. Well that's good news."

"But what about Andrea?", Alex asked, "what did her aura look like?"

Luna thought for a moment and gestured towards me, "she had aura that was very bright, like Jacob's, but not as bright. Andrea's aura is more like staring at a bright flashlight instead of the Sun. So I think they should be able to turn her back into a human. And, since she does not have the same overwhelming amount of aura that Jacob has, that's why you only got a partial transformation, Alex. If Jacob had scratched you, then you might have gotten a lot more than just ears."

Alex smiled and said, "well that's good news. Andrea is going to be very happy when we tell her that."

I nodded and felt a strange sense of disappointment at the news. Shoving the feeling away for later, I looked ahead to see the clearing with the guards looking up at our approach.

As we got closer to the guards I saw how they relaxed when they saw Luna, but gave Alex a weary look.

Luna noticed this and said, "don't worry. I'm just going to bring him to my mom, then he will leave."

They nodded and gave us permission to pass.

We moved quickly through the village, fast enough to keep anyone from stopping us and asking questions about Alex.

As we walked, I couldn't help but notice a strange sense of anger(?) directed at us. While I did not have the skill to actively read people's feeling, I could sense the collective emotions being directed at us as we walked.

I glanced around and saw that there were more than one or two Lucario giving me some not-so subtle glares. I noticed they were all males and silently groaned when I realized what they were so annoyed about.

They thought that me and Luna... were "together". That was the only explanation for all the bad vibes I was feeling after doing nothing obvious to deserve it. Most of the village was used to me and my dad coming there on a pretty regular basis, so I knew the sight of a human wasn't the cause.

I nearly shivered at all the negative emotions and wondered how Luna could ignore it so easily. Even as we walked and caught more Lucario's attention, the feeling grew stronger. By the time we got to Luna's home, I had gotten a sour taste in my mouth from the unfamiliar sensation of blatant jealousy.

When we walked in, I felt most of the affects vanish and silently thanked the walls for cutting off the horrible sensations.

Luna gave Pip a small hug before turning and saying, "mom, this is Alex."

Pip answered, via aura, "nice to meet you, Alex."

Alex smiled and said, "nice to meet you. And I can understand the Pokemon language. You can speak out loud if you want."

I blinked in surprise when I realized that I hadn't even noticed it when Alex had begun to understand Luna. I made a mental note to ask later when and how he found out about his new ability.

Pip nodded and said, out loud, "that makes things a little bit easier. Now please take a seat over here so I can see what can be done to turn you normal."

Pip gestured to a small stool and Alex sat down and removed his hood.

Pip bent so she was at eye-level with Alex's ears, his Lucario ears to be exact, and proceeded to poke and bend each ear gently in different directions until Alex said, "excuse me, but what are you doing?"

"I'm wondering why the aura gave you ears of all things. Why not fur? Or maybe red eyes?" The far-away look in her eye made me want to groan. I had seen that look before.

I knew that, if I let this continue, she would keep on coming up with theory after theory until she eventually found out the WHY behind his ears as opposed to some other part of his body being transformed. To protect us from this agonizingly thorough examination and theory creation, I put my paw on her shoulder and said, "Pip. Maybe you should save your examination of Alex until you get to know him a little better?"

She paused, and I saw the far-away look in her eyes vanish.

She then straightened up quickly and hit me in the eye with one of her aura sensing organs, causing me to take a step backwards and grimace as I held my now watering eye. She turned quickly to apologize to me, becoming more and more flustered as she consequently hit Alex in the face with her tail and knocked him off the stool.

Needless to say, Luna was quite entertained and Narri was very confused when he walked in to find me holding my eye, Alex on the ground after getting knocked off the stool, and Pip standing around looking very embarrassed at the situation.

"Uh, what's going on here?", Narri asked me, the only somewhat sane looking one at the time.

"Nothing. Please don't ask," I grumbled while still rubbing my eye. Despite how mushy a Lucario's aura sensing organ may look, they are actually quite tough. My watering eye was obvious proof of this.

Once things calmed down, Pip had Alex sit back in the chair and closed her eyes so she could concentrate on the task of looking at his aura.

After a moment, she let out an annoyed huff, opened her eyes and turned to me.

"Would you mind stepping outside? Even with that barrier put into place, you are leaking enough aura to make it difficult to examine his aura."

I nodded mareepishly and said, "no problem. Sorry."

"Not your fault, so don't worry about it," Pip said with a small smile and closed her eyes as I stepped outside and sat on the ground, waiting for the word to come back inside.

As I sat there, legs crossed, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation of the Sun shining on my fur.

I opened one eye when I heard someone approaching and saw a male Lucario walking to me with both paws clenched and his entire body language seemed to scream, "prepare to feel my wrath!"

When he got close enough, I said in a pleasant tone, "morning."

This caused the Lucario to pause for a moment before he snarled, "I challenge you for Luna!"

I opened both eyes and said, "me and Luna aren't together. I'm just a friend. You'll have to talk to Narri if you want to be with Luna."

I resisted the urge to intimidate the Lucario and try to run him off. Even if I didn't see Luna in a romantic light, I still wanted to protect her. I considered her my sister in all but blood and species. And anyways, Narri would take care of intimidating anybody that would try to hurt Luna.

He hesitated, then said, "oh yeah! Well what were you you doing walking with her? Her father won't let just any male walk with her."

"I was coming here," I answered in a calm tone.

"Why?"

"I don't think that's any of your business," I said, still holding on to my calm tone, but losing my patience.

He openly sneered at me and only the door opening stopped me from jumping up and punching him. (Later, I was pretty surprised at the aggressiveness I felt. But at the time, it felt right.)

"What do you want?", Narri's icy tone asked the Lucario who sneered at me. Even without much control over aura, I could sense Narri giving off a vibe that said, "I thought I told you before, you are not welcome here."

The sneer vanished and the Lucario's who demeanor changed, "sorry, Narri. I was simply making sure this "Lucario" wasn't bothering your daughter." He put a sneering tone into the word Lucario that did nothing to hide his distaste towards me.

Narri glanced at me, then looked at the Lucario and said, "he's ten times more worthy of my daughter than someone like you."

I was both shocked and mildly pleased by this announcement. Shocked, because I didn't expect him to ever even consider me in that light. And pleased, because he trusted me enough to actually consider me worthy of Luna. (Even though I had no intention of... getting together with her.)

The Lucario began shaking with rage, and Narri said, "Jacob, you can go back inside now."

I got up and went inside. As I walked in, I silently cursed as I remembered that it was considered very disrespectful to turn your back on a Lucario who sought a fight with you.

I knew I would be seeing that Lucario again, and next time it would end with one of us in a lot of pain.

Narri stepped in, back first, and closed the door behind him.

As he walked past me, he said to me via aura, "don't be getting any ideas about Luna. I just told him that to get him to go away." without giving any sort of outward appearance of sending me the message.

I blinked in surprise and felt a little annoyed at being used in such a manner.

"Jacob, come over here please," Pip called for me and I went over to where she was sitting behind Alex, who still had the Lucario ears.

"Anything wrong?", I asked her and she shook her head.

"No. I'm just about to start. I need you here as bait."

I paused, digested her words, then said, "what?"

She sighed and said, "it's kinda complicated but this is the gist of it. The aura in Alex, the aura that causes him to have Lucario ears, is pretty well situated where it is. I would just exhaust myself trying to pry it loose and get it out of his body without harming him-"

"Which I am very thankful for," Alex interrupts with a nervous grin and I rolled my eyes.

Pip continued, "anyways. Since you are the original source of the aura, the transforming aura will want to get back to you. So what I am going to do is use a tiny bit of your aura to "persuade" the transforming aura in Alex that it wants to leave. Then, I'll simply transfer all of it back into you."

I frowned and said, "but what will happen when the aura goes back into me? Will I lose my human vocal cords?"

Pip thought for a moment, and shrugged.

"I'm really not sure. But if that does happen, we will find a way for you to be able to communicate."

I sighed. "Joy. Now what do you need me to do?"

She patted the chair next to her and said, "just sit here and lay your paw on my shoulder. I'll take it from there. Just make sure not to break contact."

"What happens if he stops touching you?", Alex asks as I sit down.

Pip answers in a frighteningly cheerful tone, "you'll probably explode with all the aura energy being confused and having nowhere to go."

Alex blinked, not sure if she was joking or not, than paled and said to me, "please don't let go."

I rolled my eyes and said, "don't worry. I don't want to have to wash your blood out of my fur."

"I don't think I'll much care about the condition of your fur in the state I'll be in!"

I was about to respond with a clever retort, when Pip said, "okay, you two. We'll resume the gallows humor after we get those ears off of Alex."

We both answered with, "fine."

"Good. Now Jacob, please put your paw on my shoulder and stay as still as possible. You try to stay still as well, Alex."

Alex stiffened up and I resisted the urge to comment on his uncanny imitation of a statue. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luna and Narri sit down to watch.

Pip closed her eyes and her aura sensing organs rose in the air until they were parallel with the ground. I felt a faint tug from the core of my being and assumed that she had taken the little bit of aura she needed.

I watched Alex, who had closed his eyes when we started, and saw Pip work her magic.

Before our eyes, the Lucario ears on Alex's head began to turn blue and semi-transparent. Then it began to lose all resemblance to ears and turned into pure blue columns of aura sat on the top of his head. As I watched, the blue columns began to bubble and writhe as they sank into Alex's head. A moment after the last of the aura sank into his cranium, I felt the aura that Pip had used return along with the extra aura that used to be Alex's ears.

While the aura Pip had borrowed seemed to just settle back into my core, the extra seemed to buzz around the rest of my body. It didn't seem to do anything bad. In fact, it started to feel good. Really good. The closest thing I could compare it to was maybe drinking several energy drinks one right after the other. And with this energy, I felt a strange sense of euphoria that made me smile like a maniac.

(I heard what happened during this time from the others. I vaguely remembered it due to all the weird sensations during it but not very clearly.)

Pip opened her eyes and said, "okay, you two can move. We're done."

And move I did. Not really paying attention to my surroundings I jumped up and began pacing quickly around the room and my breathing increased heavily even though I had done nothing strenuous. I could feel my heartbeat begin racing, as though I had taken part in the Running of the Tauros and sprinted the whole way.

"Jacob? What's wrong? How are you feeling?" Pip was standing nearby and she watched me with a worried look.

"NothingswrongatallPipwhywouldanythingbewrong," I said, speaking so quickly that my words began to run together. I kept the demented smile while doing this, not seeing any reason to stop.

They all gave me a worried look and Narri said, "Jacob. Please sit down and try to calm yourself down a little."

"ButIamcalmNarri," I said in the same super fast way as before. And unknown to me, but obvious to those watching, I began going a little faster and my breath was coming a little harder.

Narri gave Pip a helpless look and she thought for a moment before saying, "Luna, Narri. Take Jacob to the training field and have him begin shooting off as many aura spheres as he can. I'll bring Alex there. Go!"

Luna began to direct me to the door with a worried expression and said, "okay, Jacob. Let's go to the field we were at yesterday. We can practice using aura sphere. How does that sound?"

When we got outside, I was still not in my right mind, and being outside with all that glorious OPEN SPACE, I shouted, "race you there", and immediately took off in the direction of the field.

If I had been even in slight control of my senses, I would have been both impressed and scared at the speed that I achieved as I ran through the village. It wouldn't have been bragging to say that I was leaving a large trail of dust in my path and was far outpacing Narri and Luna. Because Luna and Narri were not in eyesight of me, I'm not exactly sure how I managed to run a straight path through the village despite the buildings in my way. (Later investigating pointed to the possibility that I had actually jumped over a few buildings. I certainly felt like I could leap a few buildings in the state I was in.)

After an undetermined amount of time, I got to the field I had been in the day before and began taking laps around the perimeter. Why? Because I was still so full of energy despite the half-mile sprint I had just done and needed to let it out.

Luna and Narri arrived a little later and Narri shouted, "Jacob! I want you to practice using aura sphere! Now!"

I immediately stopped and formed an aura sphere in both paws and shot both into the trees closest to me. Then I did it again. And again. And again. Again.

I blacked out some time after that. But before I did, I apparently extended the diameter of the training field by about ten feet in all directions by destroying every tree I could see using various aura related methods. According to the Luna and Narri, I even knocked down a few using only raw aura to just shove the trees hard enough for them to break.

The entire time I was in that mindless state of pure destruction, I was still smiling.

* * *

(This is about the time I started remembering again.)

"-think he's worked it out of his system. Oh, he's waking up." I opened my eyes to find Luna and Pip bending over me.

My whole body ached slightly and I groaned loudly as I moved myself in a sitting up position.

Pip put her paw on my back and said, "hold up there, Jacob. You should probably take it easy. Especially after all the aura you used and the ordeal you put your muscles through."

I licked my dry lips and croaked, "what happened, exactly?"

Luna and Pip glanced at each other and they took a few minutes to tell me what I did while in that state.

I processed their words and asked, "why did that happen? Why did I get that huge surge of energy? And where are Narri and Alex?"

"Over here!", Alex called out as he and Narri approached us from the now demolished woods.

We waited for them to get closer before Pip said, "we think the reason you lost control is because the aura did not simply settle in you like I expected it to. I had expected your body to just absorb the aura and incorporate it in with your usual amount with no change to your being. But that wasn't the case. As we found out, the aura had taken on enough of Alex's traits that, while it would still be drawn to you, it wouldn't settle due to the differences it had taken. So, since it was unable to settle down in with the rest of your aura, it began to settle into some of the most changeable parts of your anatomy. Your muscles."

Luna took over from there.

"Basically, you just needed to work it out of your system. The boost in strength was just the new aura screaming to be used. Since we were worried that the aura would damage your muscles, we decided that we couldn't wait to just drain it out of you. That's why we "were" going to bring you here and let you blast off aura spheres until you got tired. But then you kinda ran off on your own and the rest you know."

I hung my head mareepishly and said, "so sorry about the trouble."

"Who the heck did this!?" A familiar voice yelled from the edge of the clearing. (The original edge, not the new one that I created.)

We all turned to see the Lucario that in has spoken to earlier standing there with a group of about six other Lucario and Riolu. I noticed that all of them were looking around with various amounts of stunned amazement and nervousness.

I reached my paw out to Alex and he obliged by pulling me to a standing position. I swayed a little and Alex put his hand on my shoulder to steady me.

I nodded my thanks to him then raised my paw and said with an apologetic smile to the group of Lucario, "yeah, sorry. This was me. I got a little hyper and needed to work it out. Guess I went overboard." I saw Luna hold back a snort out of the corner of my eye at my downplayed response to the destruction I had caused.

The Lucario who had come looking for a fight with me earlier, first took another look at the area around him, then looked at me with a new measure of respect. And possibly fear.

Before anyone could say anything else, Pip said, "alright everyone. He needs to rest. Narri, give him a hand back home."

I took a step forward to protest, but nearly collapsed under my own weight. The only reason I didn't eat dirt is due to Luna jumping forward and putting her arm under my chest to hold me up.

I muttered, "thanks," and she nodded.

Luna let me use her as an anchor to keep my balance and took up a little of my weight.

We began walking like that. With Pip in the front leading our little group. Alex and Narri just a little ways behind me and Luna.

As we walked, I grinned and whispered to Luna, "This reminds me of that time-"

"-when we challenged those Mankey to an all out brawl?"

I snorted at the memory and said with a wry grin, "though I distinctly remember our positions being reversed."

I smiled as I remembered how we had both sustained a great deal of bruises and painful bumps from the two Mankey we had fought. As a result, we both were barely able to walk. Thankfully, Luna had evolved into a Lucario before that point, so we could both lean against each other to help us walk evenly. Part of the reason we had gotten into the fight was to see how skilled Luna was as a Lucario, so her evolving was kind of a double edged blade.

But since Luna was not used to her evolved form yet, she suffered more than me and I had to support most of her weight as we went back to the village. Now, it was the other way around. Sort of.

When we got closer to the village, Narri said, "why don't we take him to the hot springs? They will help his muscles relax and he can rest."

Pip snorted and said, "you just want to be lazy and are using Jacob as an excuse."

I could tell Narri flinched, even without looking behind me. But I could tell he got excited when Pip said, "you're lucky that the hot springs help with both tense muscles and relaxing."

She changed her path to lead us in a slightly different direction and I could tell that Narri was pleased.

I noticed Alex walk up until he was level with us and he said, "they have hot springs here?"

Before I could respond, Narri enthusiastically said, "yes and they are amazing!"

I could see Narri's desire to run to the steamy paradise, but he didn't out of concern over my welfare.

Oh who am I kidding? The only reason he didn't is because he knew that Pip would snatch him up by his tail and force him to stay out of the water while the rest of us enjoyed it immensely.

Pip sighted a medium sized body of steaming water that was empty and led us there. It was only after they helped me into the water that Narri's restraint broke and he sunk into the water with an expression of pure bliss. Alex took off his hoodie and put all the stuff in his pockets on the article of clothing along with his shoes, socks, and shirt. He left his pants on and sunk into the water with an expression like Narri's.

I positioned myself on a rock so my back was against the side and my head would stay above the water, then I allowed the soothing affects of the warm water lull me to sleep.

* * *

ANDREA'S POV

I nervously smoothed my fur as we drove closer to my house. Would my parents accept me? Throw me out of the house?

Thankfully, Hannah (she insisted that I called her that instead of Ms Simmons) broke me out of my frantic worrying by saying, "relax. Everything's going to work out just fine."

I nodded, uncertain to whether I would be able to respond without showing how nervous I felt.

We pulled into my house's driveway and I was both relieved and scared to see that both my parents vehicle's were there.

Hannah switched the key to off and said, "do you want to come with me to the door? Or do you want me to explain a little, then signal for you?"

Despite the latter being the easier option, I said, "I'll come with you."

She nodded and we both got out and headed to the door. I made sure to make my clothes covered as much as my body as possible.

She waited a moment for me then said, "ready?"

I nodded, swallowing to loosen up my tight throat.

She pressed the doorbell and I heard the sound of footsteps come to the door.

It opened and my mom's face brightened on seeing Hannah.

"Ms Clemmons. It's nice to see you. What brings you-", her words trailed off when she saw me standing uncomfortably next to Hannah.

"Hey, mom," I said quietly.

My mom didn't speak for a second, and Hannah said, "perhaps we should sit down and I can explain. Is your husband home?"

"In here!", my dad's voice came from the living room, "somebody call for me?"

My mom turned and said, "just wait right there, honey."

She turned back to us and said, "Andrea!?"

"Yeah Mom. Now can we please go inside?"

She nodded and moved to let us by. I led Hannah to the living room, and before I went in, I said, "Dad. Please don't freak out."

Before he could ask why I said that, I walked in to see him sitting on the couch while watching what I noticed was a rerun of one of his favorite shows.

He tensed and loudly, as though he was talking to someone outside of the living room, "Andrea? Care to explain?"

I stood there and said, "this is going to take awhile, Dad."

He blinked, and thankfully, Hannah walked in and sat down. My mom followed after her, sitting next to my dad.

Hannah explained what had happened to Jacob during the date and how he was the very one that everyone was talking about who had transformed into a Lucario.

When she fell silent, I took up the talking and told them how I was unable to speak English when I had transformed. It was after I had said that I had turned into a Lucario in my room that my dad's eyes widened in horror and I could tell he had connected the dots.

"But it wasn't your fault!", I said hurriedly to him. "You didn't know it was me."

He buried his face in his hands, and said, "oh Arceus. Oh Arceus what did I do?"

I moved to sit next to him and gave him a tight hug, being careful of my chest spike, and said, "please, daddy. Let's not worry about it. You didn't know it was me. You were protecting your home like you should have."

He straightened slightly, taking his hands off his face, and grabbed my paw with shaking hands.

"Please forgive me," he said with tears running down his face. I had never seen my father cry before and the sight made me react by pulling him into another hug as I said, "there's nothing to forgive. But don't worry, you are forgiven."

He returned the hug and we stayed like that for a few minutes until his grip loosened and I took my original seat. He excused himself to go calm down and left the room.

Once he did, my mom said with an embarrassed expression to Hannah, "I'm sorry about that."

Hannah waved her hand with an understanding smile.

"It's alright. You have nothing to apologize for."

She nodded and we got back to the topic. We told her how I had accidentally partially transformed Alex and gave him Lucario ears. Once we explained our theory behind the transformations, my mom asked, "do you have any idea how to turn you back human. I mean. Unless you want to stay a Pokemon?"

I shook my head no.

"While it's interesting, being a Lucario I mean. I would really rather be human. And to answer your first question, Jacob is somewhere seeing if Alex can be turned back normal. I'm waiting to hear from him to see if it worked. If it did, then we'll try the same thing with me."

My mom developed a worried expression and said, "didn't you say that it didn't work on Jacob? What if it doesn't work with you?"

I shrugged and said in a level tone, "we'll figure that out when the time comes. IF, the time comes. So let's not worry about it until we have to."

She frowned, but nodded.

"Just- just be careful, please," my dad says from where he appeared in the entrance of the room. His voice was quieter than normal. I could feel the hesitation behind his words. He was speaking as though standing on the thinnest ice and the slightest misstep would plunge him to an icy doom.

I went to him and gave him a hug, whispering to him, "don't worry. I'll be careful."

He hugged me back, and we let each other go a few moments after that.

My parents spoke with Hannah as I went to my room and grabbed a my own hoodie and a few pairs of sweatpants that I could wear instead of borrowing Hannah's or Jacob's. I also grabbed my own phone and charger, having promised to give them updates on the situation every few hours or so. I packed these items along with some others in a medium sized duffle bag.

I had worried about them not wanting me to sleep over at my boyfriend's house, but they apparently trusted me enough to not bring it up. That. Or maybe it just plain slipped their minds. I decided to believe the first option.

Once making sure I had everything I needed, I went back to the living room to see Hannah and my mom laughing while my dad wore a grin.

"What's so funny?", I asked, and just like that, their faces froze.

My eyes narrowed and I said, "were you talking about me?"

My mom answered with, "nope!", too quickly to be natural.

I rolled my eyes and said, "I've got everything I'll need."

Hannah nodded and said, "I'll wait for you outside."

She went outside and my parent took a moment to give me a peck on the cheek each and made me renew my promises to keep them updated and to be careful. You know, the usual loving parent stuff.

After this was done, I headed outside and joined Hannah in the vehicle and we made our way back to Jacob's house.

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review and tell me what you thought of it, what I need to improve on, or any suggestions you would like to give me. To those who have requested the appearance of Pokemon, if I haven't put yours in yet, I promise I'll do my best to fit them in the next chapter I write.

Also, I know I don't do this often, but I would like to give thanks to Jack Storm 448. After reading and reviewing on his amazing FanFiction, (details below), he gave me several great suggestions that will help me tremendously when I go back and (eventually) fix up the mistakes in Curse of the Lucario. I would strongly suggest checking out his story; Rising Storm: Book 1. It is, quite frankly, on my Top 10 Pokemon FanFictions list. If you do check out his story, please drop him a review or two as you read. (You can find it under my favorites on my profile.)

Rising Storm: Book 1

When you're Jack Storm, a boy raised by a family of Lucario, and blessed with Pokémon-like abilities, the world is a dangerous place. But that isn't going to stop him from exploring it; on the way, he'll meet lots of new friends, and more than a few enemies. Special thanks to OseanSoldier, Matthais Unidostres, and Imperator Justinian for their continued support.

Trust me when I say that it is a very good read.

Talkingbirdguy out.


	8. A Lost Shinx

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 8

Sorry everyone for taking an unholy amount of time to get this chapter out. I've just been busy with my other fics and... stuff.

I would like to dedicate this chapter, however short it may be, to my friend Darion. Darion passed away in a bad vehicle crash a few days ago. While I haven't spoken to her in awhile, we used to be pretty good friends. I hope she's in a more pleasant place.

Now, I'm sorry for all this heavy stuff. You didn't come here for that. Please enjoy the fic.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Chapter 8

The Lost Shinx

* * *

JACOB'S POV

"C'mon Jacob, wake up."

I felt a hand, scratch that, a paw shake my shoulder and I opened my eyes with a groan.

"Ugh. Couldn't I have slept longer", I complained as I blinked repeatedly to force my mind to wake back up.

Narri snorted and leaned in so he could whisper in my ear, "trust me. I would've let you sleep all day. But Pip made me wake you up."

I snorted and stretched my muscles, which were totally relaxed thanks to the hot spring, but still ached a little. Then I followed Narri out of the steaming water and he taught me how to use aura to dry off instead of waiting for it to dry naturally. When I attempted it, I succeeded on my first attempt, and also knocked Narri down due to having little control over it.

After helping him back up and apologising, I noticed that the others were not there.

"Where's the others?", I asked as we started walking back to the village.

"They left a little while ago. Luna is taking Alex back to your truck. Pip went home. You should probably get moving so Alex doesn't wait long."

I nodded and said, "okay. Tell Pip thanks again for me, please?"

"Sure. Now you better be moving."

"Yeah, see you later Narri," I said and began to run to the entrance of the village. I slowed down enough to not run into the guards, then continued on my way. About halfway to my truck, as I was going around a curve in the path, I noticed a blue and yellow ball of fur on the side of the path, slightly hidden behind some bushes. I slowed down and walked to the side of the path. When I got closer, I saw that it was a young Shinx that was curled up into a ball.

My eyes widened when I saw that the little electric type was covered in some pretty nasty bruises and I immediately knelt down beside it and began to try to determine what had caused the bruising. When I got closer, the Shinx opened its eyes and tried to jump to its feet, only to fall back down with a cry of pain.

"Please stop moving. I'm not going to hurt you," I said in a calming tone, trying not to scare the obviously terrified Pokemon.

Despite my words, the Shinx began shaking in fear and I noticed something out of the corner of my eyes.

"Just wait right there for a second," I said as I slowly got up and walked over to the bush that was bursting with ripe Oran berries.

I picked a few before slowly walking back to the Shinx and laying the berries next to it.

"Here. Eat these. They should make you feel better."

I took a few steps back and sat on the ground, but the Shinx made no move to eat. I sighed and grabbed another berry from the bush.

I made sure the Shinx was looking as I took a big bite out of the blue berry.

After swallowing the, I said, "see? They won't harm you."

I picked a few more berries before taking a seat a little ways away from it.

I ate two more berries before the Shinx finally took a bite out of one of the berries, and promptly began to devour the rest of the berries in front of it with great relish.

Once the Shinx was done, I heard him (for it was a boys tone) say, "thanks for those."

I smiled and said, "it's no problem. How are you feeling?"

He looked at himself for a second before answering with a, "a little better. But my leg still hurts a little."

"Do you mind if I take a look at it? I might be able to help."

He hesitated, but nodded.

I scooted closer and asked, "where is the pain located?"

He twitched his left hind leg and winced.

"That one."

I nodded and took a closer look. I determined that it was not broken. Just pretty bruised.

I leaned back from my examination and said, "it doesn't look too bad. You will just need to stay off of it for two days or so until it stops hurting." I silently thanked my dad for all of his medical lessons he had taught me. While neither of us would be considered professionals in any way, we both knew more about caring for injured Pokemon more than most of the populace.

The Shinx gave a small smile and nodded.

"Is anywhere else hurting too much?"

He shook his head and said, "no. Those berries really helped."

"That's good. Now can you tell me how exactly you ended up like this?"

He flinched, probably from the memory of what happened to him, or from the pain.

He stared at the ground and said, "I got lost and a bunch of mean Mankey attacked me after I tried to eat some berries I had found on the ground. I said I was sorry, but they wouldn't listen and I tried to run away." He began tearing up and I gently picked him up and held him against my chest, being careful of my spike, and said, "Shhh, it's okay. There's nothing to worry about now. How about this? Why don't I help you get back to where you need to go? Would you like that?"

I made sure to speak in the most reassuring tone possible and was careful not to squeeze too hard to aggravate his injuries. He began crying quietly in my fur and I gave him some time to let it all out.

After a little while, he calmed down enough to say, "would you really?"

I smiled, patted his head and said, "it's a promise."

He smiled and dried his eyes with his paw. A second later, we both turned to the sound of footsteps heading towards us. A second later, Luna appeared and stopped in surprise.

"Hey Luna," I said as I stood up, being careful not to jar the Shinx too much, "I found this little guy just a minute ago. I'm going to help him find his way home. Do you mind telling Alex?"

Luna blinked before nodding and saying, "sure. I'll ask him to text your mom and tell her of this new development. Oh, and did we ever tell my parents about your Dad?"

I froze, and would have facepawed if I did not have the Shinx in my arms. To replace the facepaw, I groaned and said in a pleading tone, "umm. Mind telling them? I'm pretty sure they're going to kill me for forgetting to tell them about, well, that." I made sure not to go into too much detail. I wanted to avoid upsetting Shinx in any way possible.

Luna gave me a pained look before saying, "well my dad said to come home after escorting Alex to your truck, so I'll tell them when I get home. I just pray you're out of the Sanctuary at that point."

I shivered at what Narri and Pip would do to me the next time they came face to face with me and vowed to do my best to not let it happen anytime soon.

I gulped and nodded. "Thanks. I owe you one-"

"Three, you owe me three," She interrupted me and I nodded.

"Fine. Three. I'll see you later."

She waved her paw before turning back the way she had come and moving away.

Once she was gone, I looked down at the silent Shinx and asked, "so which way do you think is your home?"

He shook his head and said, "I don't know. I don't recognize anything around here. I can't remember which way I came from when I was running away."

I frowned but patted the electric type on his head.

"That's alright. What kind of features can you remember that are around your home? Any valleys or big hills?"

He looked down for a moment before looking back up and saying, "I remember this really big tree that has this really big scar from a lightning strike on it. It's on the top of a big hill and is pretty close to our cave."

I closed my eyes and visualized a picture of the Sanctuary in my head. I discarded the possibility of him living in the small canyon, due to there being all kinds of ground types that didn't care much for electric types. I though about a large lake that was home to many varieties of water Pokemon, but discarded that as well when I remembered that there were no big hills around there.

I continued to consider and discard possible places until I narrowed it down to a single rather large area that was about two or three miles away from where we were right then. That area of the Sanctuary was inhabited by many different kinds of types and had a good deal of hills and caves.

I opened my eyes and said, "I think I remember a place that has a tree on a hill like you describe."

The Shinx perked up and said, "really? Can we go now?"

I nodded and began walking in the direction that I had determined a few moments earlier. I positioned him on my shoulder so I would have a paw free to move branches out of the way and to help me keep my balance.

While I was careful not to bounce him too much, I kept up a nice pace that ate up the distance between us and our destination rather quickly.

When we stopped at a shallow stream with a clearing around it for a quick drink, Shinx looked around and said, "I think this is familiar. I've been here before, I think."

I smiled and said, "that's good. That must mean we are getting closer to your home." I knew that young Pokemon like him would not be allowed to roam very far from their home, so if something looked familiar to him, then it would near where he lives.

He nodded and drank some of the water. I knelt down and used my paws to bring the water to my mouth.

After I did this a few more times, I heard a growl from my left and saw a very annoyed Manectric growling a few yards away from me.

"This is my territory! Get out!" He snarled at me while falling into an attacking stance.

I stood and put my paws up.

"Okay, okay. We're sorry for the trouble. We'll leave now," I said as I slowly backed up, paws still raised in a non-aggressive manner.

"Who else is with you?", the angry electric type asked before noticing Shinx right behind me.

"You! I've told you to stay away from here!"

Before I could say or do anything else, the pissed off Pokemon raced towards me with flames trickling out from behind his clenched teeth.

I immediately snatched Shinx into my arms and jumped backwards to avoid the fire fang.

"Hey! We're leaving! What's the big deal?", I shouted while keeping my distance.

"That brat needs to learn a lesson! I've told him to stay away from here before!"

The Manectric let off a thunder wave and I leapt to the right to try and avoid it. I hid behind a tree to avoid another thunder wave. Unfortunately, my left arm was grazed by the first attack and began to sting as the electric energy forced my muscles to clench painfully and make it near to move properly.

I let it drop to my side before I set Shinx down and said, "stay right here. I'll call you when it's okay to come out."

He nodded and I readied an aura sphere with my good paw before sprinting out from behind the tree and directly at the Manectric.

He hesitated, not expecting a frontal assault, and that allowed me enough time to fire off the aura sphere. The moment I launched the attack, my arm seized up and I thought I could see some sparks of electricity travel over my fur. Due to this, my aim was messed up and the aura sphere flew a few yards above his head. And, as a bonus, I stumbled from the pain and was barely able to keep my balance.

Before I could recover, he rushed forward in a burst of speed that I recognized as a quick attack and I was unable to avoid the impact. As a result, I flew backwards several yards and landed on my back.

My arm finally stopped clenching up and I was able to get up at the last second to block his bite attack from ripping out my throat. While this did succeed in saving my neck, literally, my left arm wasn't as lucky and it felt as though Lucy had used Inferno on it at point blank.

I grit my teeth from the pain and said, "gotcha."

I then slammed an aura sphere into him, forcing him off of my arm and flying back into the stream.

I waited a second to catch my breath and saw him crawl out of the water and, after giving me a glare, stumbled away to tend to his wounds.

When I was sure he wasn't coming back, I let myself lay flat on the ground and I groaned.

"Are you okay?"

I turned my head to see the Shinx standing next to me with a worried look.

I waved my right arm (the one that wasn't hurting) and said, "just tired. I don't really fight that much and I need a second before we start again."

"I saw some berries over there. Do you want me to get you some?"

I smiled and nodded.

When he ran to get the berries, I dropped the smile and grimaced. After doing a very thorough diagnostic scan of my injured arm, I made an incredibly scientific conclusion that would put medical professionals to shame.

"This is going to hurt tomorrow," I muttered and winced as the adrenalin rush faded and I felt the place he bit ache even more.

I saw that his bite had broken the skin and that I had some blood on my fur. I forced myself over to the stream and washed the blood from my fur. Upon taking a closer glance at my bite wound, I saw that the individual punctures were already healing up. Not super fast or anything. But they were no longer letting out blood and hurting as badly as they had been a little while before. While I knew Lucario, and Pokemon in general, healed pretty quickly, I was surprised at the rate I was getting better.

I guess my overwhelming amount of aura helped my bodies natural healing abilities. Now that I think about it, my dad hardly ever got sick. And whenever he got cut, it healed much faster than normal. I forced myself to stop thinking too much about it and instead just decided to be thankful for it.

I heard Shinx and turned around as he approached with three berries balanced on his back.

"These were all that I could find."

He dropped them next to me and I grabbed two and pushed one closer to him.

"Here. You need to eat one too. You're still healing."

I thought he would protest, and he looked like he was going to, but he just started eating when I gave him a semi-stern look.

After we finished those off, I put him back on my right shoulder and continued in the direction we were headed before. While I moved at a slightly slower pace, we still moved quickly.

As I was climbing over a fallen tree, Shinx piped up and said, "I know this place! I live just that way!" He extended one of his paws in a direction and I smiled in relief before heading in the direction he indicated.

It was when I was about to enter this patch of bushes that two large blurs burst forth, moving too quickly for me to react. The smaller blur flew over my right shoulder and snatched Shinx off as it went past me. The larger blur, only a second behind the first, barreled into my chest and slammed me to the ground.

The air was knocked out of my lungs and I couldn't stop the figure, which I saw was a female Luxray, from pouncing on my chest, pinning my arms to the ground, and snarling right in my face.

"Wait! He helped me!" Shinx's words rang out and the Luxray hesitated.

I managed to wheeze out, "he was lost," before coughing a few times in an attempt to get air back in my depleted lungs.

"Please don't hurt him!"

The Luxray thought for a moment before relenting.

I sat up and focused on getting my breath back.

Once I could breath semi-normally, I turned around to see Shinx's mother inspecting him while a Luxio, probably Shinx's brother, watched me with a glare.

"I don't think his leg is broken, just bruised," I said when I saw the Luxray looking at his injured leg.

She paused and turned to me.

"Thank you for bringing him home and keeping him safe. I am sorry for attacking you without warning."

I waved my paw and said, "you were just doing your job as a mother. You are forgiven."

She nodded and picked up Shinx by the scruff of his neck before taking him into a cave that was hidden by some bushes and coming back out.

I stood up and said, "I've got to be going now. Hope Shinx feels better soon."

Luxio turned away and walked into the cave without a word while she said, "thank you again. I was so worried that something bad had happened to him. If you ever need a favor when you're around here, just ask and I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, I'll do that if I'm around. See you later," I said as I turned in the direction I needed to go and began running.

About a half hour later, I hopped in my truck and Alex woke up from his nap.

"Well that took awhile," he commented while rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

I started up the truck and pulled out of the place I was parked.

"Sorry. Had a run in with a territorial Manectric and that ate up some time. Has my mom tried to call or text you?"

He checked his phone and nodded.

"Yup. She texted me about ten minutes ago. I'll tell her we're headed back now."

"Ask how the talk with Andrea's parents went", I requested, feeling nervous about the answer and I prayed for the best.

He nodded and spent a minute typing away before sending the message.

Another minute later, he read aloud, "it went alright. Were you able to fix Alex's "Problem"?"

I snorted as Alex rolled his eyes and said, "the way they put emphasis on it makes it seem like I have some sort of rash."

He sent back that we had managed to get rid of his Lucario ears and that he was fully human again.

He read aloud the text he got a second later, "(this is Andrea Jacob's mom is driving). Okay. Your mom said to head back home. We'll decided what to do from there."

"Tell them that we're on our way now."

LINE BREAK

We, somehow, arrived home before my mom and Andrea and watched TV as we waited for them to get there. (I threw on some shorts after remembering Andrea's request before sitting down.)

Alex had the remote and I was about to snatch it from him due to his irritating habit of channel surfing.

Right before I did, he flipped it to a news station and the familiar news reporter continued what he was saying before we landed on the channel.

"-Jacob Simmons, the son of the famous Jason Simmons, has followed in his father's footsteps and-", Alex flipped the channel and I yelled, "turn it back!"

He jumped and rolled his eyes before hitting the button.

"It has been confirmed by eyewitnesses that he transformed while out at a local restaurant. And when reporters went to the Simmons household to question whether or not the reports were true, this is what happened." He paused as the screen went black for a second before being replaced with what was obviously someone holding a video camera. What confused me is that it was a little below the height you would expect it to be at. And I didn't remember a camera being there at that time?

A familiar voice that made me grit my teeth came from the camera, "reporter John Pitts at the Simmons household where I have come in touch with the son of the legendary once Lucario, Jason Simmons. Jacob here has agreed to answer a few questions."

"That worthless-", I then let out a stream of vile curses aimed at that irritating reporter that, if the man could hear me, would probably be cringing at the sheer vocabulary involved in the insults.

I cooled down enough to hear my own voice come through with, "Leave." I cheered at my past self's cold tone and said, "you rule, past Me!"

Alex snorted at my behavior and said, "narcissistic much?"

I ignored him as the TV switched back to the familiar reporter and he said, "our on-scene reporter was unable to get anything else out of the Lucario who claimed to be Mr Simmons as he asked other reporters who arrived shortly afterwards to vacate the property."

I bristled at his "claimed to be" statement, while Alex snorted at all the details the guy was leaving out. I calmed myself down, slightly grateful that they hadn't shown me threatening all the reporters with my aura sphere.

I heard the front door open and I sat down and pretended to be calm before my mom and Andrea could see me angrily glaring at the TV. They walked in and Andrea immediately ran over to Alex and began investigating the top of his head as we all watched in confused silence.

A moment later, Alex asked what we were all thinking, "what are you doing?"

"Making sure there's no trace left," she said as she moved his hair out of the way and inspected his scalp closely.

"And?", I asked.

She let go of his head and said, "I can't find any sign of a nub."

I grinned and said, "hear that, Alex? You're nub-less."

He snorted and straightened his hair.

My mom smiled and said, "so you managed to get the transforming aura out of him without a hitch?"

My grin was replaced with a grimace while Alex gave an amused snort.

My mom's eyebrow raised and I went ahead and answered her upcoming question.

"Well, the aura that I got back from Alex didn't exactly sit well with the rest of my body. It was too different from my own aura after being a part of him for that long. So when Pip tried to transfer it back into my body, my body's aura did not just absorb it into my body like we expected it to..."

"And?", my mom said, giving me That Look™ (yes, it deserves to be capitalized and everything).

I held in a flinch at her gaze and said, "uh, well-"

"He basically got high off of it," Alex said and my mom's eyes widened.

"No! It's not like that! The aura couldn't go anywhere else, so it started affecting my muscles and gave me an energy boost."

"Like steroids?", Andrea suggested and I facepawed.

"Noooo," I moaned into my paws, "it's not like drugs. C'mon Alex, help me out here!"

Alex simply grinned and said, "hey, I'm not the one who went temporarily crazy cause he put something in his body."

I glared at him and my mom said, "alright you two. Enough. Do you think Pip will be able to turn Andrea back into a human?"

I turned to her and said, "I think so. I just hope Pip figures out a different method than what she did with Alex. I'm not sure my body would be able to take that much aura at once without something getting hurt."

I could see Andrea biting her lip and indecision in her eyes.

I patted her on the arm and said, "don't worry about it. Pip will figure out some way for us to get the aura out of your body and turn you back into a human. She'll find a way to make sure none of us get hurt."

Andrea nodded, but still had a worried expression.

I heard a buzz come from Alex and he checked his phone and winced.

"Gotta go?", I asked.

"Yeah. My mom says it's time for supper and to get my tail over there."

I started laughing at his choice of words and Alex started chuckling after he looked back at what he said.

He headed for the door, and waved goodbye to us while still grinning.

Once he left, and I stopped laughing, my mom said, "who wants to take a shower first while I start making supper?"

I started to say that Andrea could go first, but she spoke before I could.

"I'll help you make it. You can go first."

Instead of protesting, because I knew it would be useless, I nodded and headed upstairs.

I grabbed a clean pair of shorts and took a fast shower before heading back downstairs. The moment I hit the bottom step, my mouth started watering at the scent that hit my nostrils and I could feel my tail move back and forth slightly without my conscious consent. While Lucario tails do wag a little when a Lucario is happy, it does not fly all over the place like a Growlithe's tail does when one is excited.

I made my way to the kitchen, where the smell was coming from, and didn't even bother to question what the small block-like things were before I tossed a few into my mouth. The small block had an odd mix of spicy and sweet that blended together into a wonderful creation.

I enjoyed the glorious taste of the unknown delicacy before noticing my mom and Andrea standing there with two different expressions.

My mom had a smile that she was trying, and failing, to restrain. And Andrea had a grossed out expression, like I was eating something not fit for consumption.

Wait...

"Please tell me these are not Poke-treats," I said before taking a closer look at the plate the delicious blocks sat on, steaming slightly from their recent exposure to the oven.

"Alright, we won't tell you," my mom said while "accidentally" nudging the box that the Poke-treats mix had come in.

I paused to think for a moment before saying, "do we have any of the mix that Luna likes so much?"

"You're not serious, are you?" Andrea gave me a Look (not The Look™, that is for mothers only. This was the less scathing, but still deadly, girlfriend variety).

I flinched and said, "I mean... uh..."

My mom made a lashing motion with her hand and a "whipping" sound. And she mouthed, "whipped already and not even married."

I blushed under my fur and glared at my mom while Andrea glared at me.

Lucy walked in and said, "so are you going to hand those over or do I have to climb up there?"

My mom looked at me for an explanation and I said, "Lucy wants her treats."

Lucy nodded and I thought I could see a little bit of drool coming from her mouth. Before, when I had seen the expression, I had thought she had been exaggerating. But then I found myself nearly drooling over the smell of the treats just like her.

Eventually, the two of them managed to snatch my attention away from the Poke-treats and forced me to focus on the chile that they had made.

Lucy kept on taunting me by eating those glorious block shaped pieces of bliss slowly and while I watched. If my girlfriend and mom hadn't been there, I probably would've whimpered.

As it was, I ate quickly, and helped clean the dishes when everyone was finished. (Andrea took pains to grab Lucy's dish before I could and washed it herself. If she hadn't, I probably would have spent awhile looking for unclaimed crumbs.)

Once the kitchen was cleaned up, I kissed my mom goodnight. Then, once my mom left the room, I stole a kiss from Andrea before heading upstairs to my room.

I quickly undressed and turned out the light before making my mind relax and letting sleep claim me.

* * *

JASON'S POV

I blinked a few times, letting my eyes get used to being open before sitting up slowly and reaching down automatically and grabbing the food that laid there. Every movement I made was slow. I was unable to go any faster. My body didn't allow me to move very quickly with the lack of movement and the draining it had to endure for so long.

As I chewed, I checked the tiny space in my mind that I had been storing aura. I put a tiny bit more into the space and decided that it was time to put my plan into action.

I laid back down after feeling the draining affects of the room increase again, and sent a command to the stored aura before falling back unconscious.

I opened my eyes again. But this time, it wasn't to the room of constant drain that I had grown so used to seeing. Now, it looked as though I was in a universe of perpetual darkness. I looked down at myself to see my regular, human, body wreathed in blue flames that flickered with my heartbeat.

I felt disappointed at the lack of detail in the tiny world I had created in my head, but shoved it to the side before throwing out a mental lasso.

Slowly, a prone figure came into being in front of me and I silently cursed when I saw that it was a Lucario. Not who I was looking for.

Before I could try and pull in Jacob, who is the one I was trying to bring the first time, the Lucario woke up and jumped to his feet.

"Sorry, but can you stay quiet while I bring my son here. I can't hold this connection for-"

"Dad!?", I froze when the Lucario shouted that and focused on the shocked Pokemon.

"Jacob!?"

The Lucario, aka Jacob, closed his open mouth and said, "how in the world are you in my head? Are we really talking?"

I snapped out of my shock and said, "yes. And I can't hold this for very long so I'll give you the short version. Make sure you contact Rick and tell him this when you wake up."

I waited for him to nod before saying, "a group of people called Team Phoenix has taken me and is stealing the aura from my body. They are taking it slowly, so I'll be kept alive for awhile until they take all they want. For whatever reason, I have less aura then I did all those years before when Team Styx tried to take my aura. Because of this, they are taking much less aura than they expected and their plans will be slowed down. I have transformed into a Lucario, again. And I will be unable to communicate again due to being forced into a coma once the aura I had managed to store up runs out."

Jacob, thankfully, did not ask questions and just nodded as I told him everything.

"Now, how in the world did you turn into a Lucario? You Copycat."

He rolled his eyes and began to speak, but I felt the aura I had stored up begin to get very low and said, "never mind. Give me a second."

I reached forward and touched his head. I spent only a couple seconds viewing his most recent memories over the last few days before breaking contact and whistling.

"Dang! You and your girlfriend? Wow."

He blinked, understanding that I had gone through his memories, then said, "yeah. Now is there anything I can do to help you? Aside from telling Rick all that you've told me."

I shook my head and said in a serious tone, "Jacob, I want you to stay away from Team Phoenix. Don't do anything to catch their attention. Heck, if you hadn't already been exposed to the world, I would ask for you to hide in the house 24/7. But since the world already knows about you, this is what I want you to do. I want you to allow yourself to be caught in a pokeball-"

"But-", he protested, but I cut him off.

"No. You are going to let Alex or your mom catch you in a pokeball, so you will be unable to be caught by anybody else. Just lock the pokeball in a safe place when you go out in public so you don't have to worry about being caught by a hotshot trainer. I would suggest your girlfriend to do the same, but that's her choice."

I felt the last bit of the aura about to be used up, so I quickly said, "I'm about to lose the connection. Since I know you're exactly like I used to be and will probably go looking for them yourself," he had the decency to look a little mareepish at this, "I'm going to give you a little help in boosting your skill set."

Instead of explaining, I just put my flaming head against his and let loose a concentrated flood of memories and ideals into his mind. Once I was finished, I stepped back and said, "I put a tiny bit of my own aura in with those memories. When you are trying out those moves and techniques, listen to the small voice in your head. That would be me trying to help you out. Oh, and tell your mom to please take care of herself and that I'll be fine. And anything else you can come up with that sounds nice and reassuring."

Before he could even snort in amusement, he vanished and I felt the flames around my body begin to flicker slower and slower. Eventually, the flames stopped moving around my body and I felt it begin to harden into what looked like a blue crystal. As my body became surrounded my the crystal, I felt my mind shutting down and everything became more and more sluggish. I knew that it was all up to someone else to save me.

I just hoped that it would not end in a giant explosion, like last time.

* * *

Yes, I was picturing Sir Aaron in the crystal when I wrote this last part. I couldn't resist. Now, I would like to ask you, the readers, a very important question. Who is your favorite character in this series? Any character from both Curse of the Lucario and Return of the Cursed Gift. I'm just curious if who is the most popular of my creations. So please leave it along with a review of how you liked this chapter. (And I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have via a PM if you have any.)

Also, I FINALLY got that Luxio into the story. Sorry for taking so long. I'll be trying to bring in the other requests in when I can.

So yeah, please review. I promise not to take so flipping long with the next chapter. Talkingbirdguy, (feeling really tired cause it is getting late here and I gotta get up early tomorrow), out!


	9. Things get territorial

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 9

I want to say thanks to everyone for their condolences. It is very helpful to see those. Also, thanks to all who left reviews.

I'm happy to post what is easily my longest chapter thus far. I think that it comes out to a little over eight thousand words. I hope you enjoy :).

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

Things get territorial

Chapter 9

* * *

JACOB'S POV

"-anything else you can come up with that sounds nice and reassuring." I was about to laugh at my dad's words, but then I felt something seem to rip my entire form from the dark place I was standing and my eyes flew open to the sight of my bedroom's ceiling. I blinked a few times from surprise at the sight of sunlight streaming through my blinds. It had felt like I had closed my eyes for a few minutes as opposed to about seven hours ago.

I thought about the dream(?) I had and immediately shot to my feet and ran downstairs to my parents bedroom.

Even with the incredibly important information that my mom would want to know ASAP, I still hesitated when I raised my paw to knock. There is one major rule when waking up my mom in the morning; Don't. Not unless you wish to raise her grumpy wrath.

I stood there, frozen with indecision until I finally knocked gently and prayed for the best.

"Yes?", a groggy sounding voice answered from the other side.

"Mom, it's Jacob. I think you need to know something."

"Come in."

I opened the door and stood there awkwardly as she sat up in the bed and wiped some of the sleep from her hair.

"What is it? Anything wrong?"

I shook my head, then paused, before saying, "well last night, when I went to bed, I think dad made contact with me via a dream."

She froze in the middle of a yawn and her hand came down to rest beside her. She was fully awake as she said, "are you sure? What did he say?"

I told her everything that dad had told me, but held back his suggestion of capturing me in a pokeball. I would bring it up, just not right then.

When I finished, she got out of bed and, faster than any time I've ever seen her move without the assistance of coffee, she walked out of the door and said, "let's call Rick. This might help in the search."

I followed behind her as she grabbed her cell phone and entered in a number as she sat down on the couch in the living room. I sat next to her and waited silently as she waited for Rick to pick up.

"Hello? Rick here."

"Hey, Rick. It's Hannah. I think we have something that you'll want to know about Jason. I'm giving the phone to Jacob."

She passed it to me and I said, "hey Rick."

"Hey. Okay, now what is it? Tell me everything."

I repeated everything I had told my mom a little earlier and he listened, not speaking the entire time until I finished.

"And he said he'll be going into a coma after his stored up aura ran out, right?"

"Yeah. That's what he said to me."

"Hmm. Okay. Thank you for telling me this. This might help a great deal. If anything like this happens again, please call. And remember, I want you to stay safe. Don't take unnecessary risks. I'll keep you updated on any new developments."

"Thanks. And I'll be careful."

He hung up and I gave my mom her phone back.

"Anything wrong?", We turned to see Andrea standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"My dad communicated to me via a dream last night. I just told Rick about it."

Her eyes widened and she said, "anything happen?"

I told her the more important details, getting a little tired of repeating myself over and over.

When I got done, I stood up and her eyes widened a bit more before she turned her head with an embarrassed look on her face.

I mentally hit myself when I saw that I was not wearing anything. I was too distracted to remember my promise to her.

"Sorry, I'll go put on some pants." I tried to scoot by her on the stairs without getting too close and I heard my mom stifle a laugh. I went upstairs and put on a pair of shorts before heading back downstairs and helping my mom prepare breakfast while Andrea got a shower.

Later, while we were eating, Andrea asked, "so will we be going to The Sanctuary soon?"

I nodded.

"Yeah. Right after breakfast. Are you going to come?", I directed the question to my mom, who shook her head.

"Sorry, I've got some errands to run. Just make sure to keep me updated on everything."

I promised that I would, and as I stood up to put my dishes in the sink, I knocked over an empty cup and my paw shot out automatically to try to catch it. My mom did the same thing as I did it, and before I could pull back, my hand spike scratched her across the arm.

There was a moment of tense silence before I sighed in relief and said, "sorry, mom. But at least Pip's barrier is holding. You can't feel anything weird, can you?"

She shook her head and wiped away the tiny bit of blood that started welling up from the scratch.

"It's okay. I'll just go put a band-aid on it. You two can head over to The Sanctuary. I'll take care of the dishes."

Andrea finished a second later and we both got in my truck and I drove us to The Sanctuary without anything big happening.

As I pulled into my usual spot, I saw Luna stand up from a spot she had been sitting at under a tree.

She came closer as we got out and she said, "you better be ready for the scolding of your life."

I grinned and waved a finger.

"Nope, I get the time honored, "guest is with me", privilege. Any and all scolding is held off until said guest is not around."

Andrea walked around the truck and said, "are you taking advantage of me being with you to avoid punishment?"

"Nope/yes he is," me and Luna answered at the same time and I glared at her as she smiled wickedly at me.

Andrea just rolled her eyes and said, "I feel so loved. Now which way do we go?"

"This way-", I started, but Luna stopped me.

"Um, Jacob. You know the rules. Did you tell Andrea?"

I flinched when I saw her staring pointedly at my shorts.

"What does she mean?", Andrea asked, clueless.

Luna turned to her and said, "Lucario are not allowed to wear clothing within the village."

I flinched internally at her blunt way of putting it, and Andrea got a wide-eyed look.

"But, when I turn back human, I'll have no clothes with me!"

I blushed at the mental image and made a point not to look at Andrea until I banished the image from my head.

"Jacob's dad has a few pairs of clothes you can borrow at our house. Don't worry. There are plenty of female Lucario around. Another won't catch any more attention than normal. Hopefully."

I thought she would put up more of a fight, but instead she just said, "Jacob, turn around."

I did so without question, despite the pointlessness of the gesture.

Luna turned as well and we waited until she sighed and said, "I'm done."

Luna went ahead and turned around while I turned slowly and kept my eyes looking elsewhere at all times.

"You might as well look. But thanks for trying," Andrea said in an embarrassed tone.

I stopped looking away so pointedly, but made sure not to stare. Andrea stood there awkwardly, arms crossed and with an expression that made me certain that she was blushing under her fur. Speaking from both experience and the fact she was my girlfriend, she was a very pretty Lucario. And yes, you can say that some Pokemon of the same species are better looking than another of the same species. Andrea was prettier than a good portion of the female Lucario population of the village.

I wondered idly if she was prettier than Luna, but I couldn't tell. Luna was basically a sister, so I couldn't compare her to someone else. Especially not my girlfriend.

"Well? Which way do we go?", Andrea asked and Luna began walking to the path towards the village.

I began walking and Andrea fell into step beside me.

We both sort of looked neither more towards nor away from each other more than necessary and we walked in a semi-awkward silence. Luna was leading us while me and Andrea were a few steps behind.

"Jacob, compliment her. She needs a little bit of positive reinforcement right now," Luna said to me via aura without looking at us.

Taking her advice to heart, I leaned down slightly and whispered, "for what it's worth, you're still beautiful."

She lowered her head slightly and I felt like she was blushing again.

"Thanks," she whispered back and her arms became uncrossed. I put my paw close to hers and she grabbed it and held on as we walked.

"Nice job," Luna said, still speaking via aura.

Purely on instinct, I responded with, "thanks."

I saw Luna jump slightly and she said, still using aura, "when did you learn to speak with aura?"

I blinked in surprise when I realized that the knowledge of how to respond with aura was in my head.

"It's a long story. Good news, I have some information about my dad that will appease your parents wrath."

I felt her curiosity through our mental link, but she said nothing more.

As we approached the guards, I felt Andrea get slightly behind me, like she was hiding.

Luna vouched for us and we walked into the village with no problems.

It was when we got a little ways into the village that the troubles began. The first time I came, I had felt the emotions of a bunch of jealous male Lucario who were pissed about me being with Luna. And then I came back, walking not only with Luna again, but with yet another female Lucario. And, thanks to my dad's knowledge of aura, I was picking up on everything they felt towards me. Thankfully, his knowledge also helped me to block out the emotions. So I didn't really feel them as keenly and it didn't bother me too badly.

As we were walking, Andrea walked close beside me, nearly pressed against my right arm.

When we got closer to Luna's home, I felt someone come up behind us and Andrea jumped while letting out a squeak of surprise when the person jumped at us and reached towards her. I didn't know what the person did at first, but when Andrea rubbed her rear and I saw that it was the Lucario that had issues with me, I connected the dots pretty fast.

"Who the heck do you think you are!?", I shouted at the smirking Lucario who was just slapped my girlfriends butt.

I stood in front of Andrea and took on an aggressive stance.

"I think I'm much more worthy than you to have either of these beauties," he leaned a little to the side to talk beyond me to Andrea, "now how about it? Would you like to be with a real Pokemon?"

Perhaps it was the regular instincts of a Pokemon, or maybe it was my own patience, probably a mixture of both, but when he said that. I snapped.

Without warning, I slammed a hastily created aura sphere directly into the disrespectful SOB's chest and sent him flying back.

I began to follow him, fully intent on kicking him while he was down for disrespecting her, but I felt a paw touch my arm before I could take a step.

I turned to see Andrea standing there with a worried expression and she said, "Jacob, that's enough. Let's just go before something else happens."

I battled with the desire to ignore her and go pound some respect into him, but instead I relaxed slightly and turned away from where the Lucario was starting to get back up.

Luna was standing a little ways ahead with arms crossed and wore a, "can we go now?", expression.

But then her expression changed and she yelled, "watch out!"

Acting purely on instinct, I pushed Andrea to the left just before an aura sphere impacted the ground at our feet.

I was knocked back about a yard and landed on my side with my eyes watering from some dust that was thrown into my eyes from the fall.

I felt, more than saw, the pissed off Lucario's presence getting closer. Using the knowledge my dad had transferred to me, I sent out my aura and "saw" him running at me with metal claws (the attack) extended from both paws, prepared to slice into me.

I sat up and feigned trying to clear my vision, waiting until he got closer to leap towards him with metal claws extended. Our attacks met and we stopped as both our momentum cancelled each other's out. With our claws locked and sparking at the contact, we both began pushing as hard as possible in order to overcome the other.

It wasn't obvious, but I knew that he was stronger than me. Not by much. But I could feel my arms begin to give little by little and I knew I wasn't going to win without doing something.

I was about to attempt to kick his feet out from under him, in an attempt to force him to the ground, when a familiar voice spoke to me in my head.

"Jacob. He's bolstering his muscles with aura. You need to do the same if you want to beat him. Simply imagine your body becoming infused with blue aura, then put a little pressure behind your natural aura like you want to create an aura sphere, and you'll feel the affects soon enough."

I nearly let myself be beat from the surprise of hearing my dad's advice in my head, but managed to not screw up. I began to imagine the all too familiar blue power pouring into my body and felt myself start to push the Lucario I was locked with back. As a bonus to still not being able to see due to the dust in my eyes, I saw my own body via using aura. (Aura vision is 360°, so I was able to see myself and any of my surroundings at any angle I chose.)

Luna was right when she said it was like looking at the sun! I had to look at it at the corner(?) of my eye(?) in order not to be blinded. Compared to my aura, the Lucario I was fighting was a lightbulb with insufficient power coming to it. Dim, and pulsing along with his heartbeat.

But back to the fight. Now that I saw how much aura was really at my disposal, I pushed a lot more power into my body and shoved the Lucario away from me, effectively breaking our Battle of Power.

I took a second to rub the sand from my eyes before opening them and raising my still extended claws in a, "want some more?", gesture.

He scowled as his claws faded and he replaced it by putting his clenched paws together and pulling them apart to bring a bone rush into being.

I could've probably beaten him using only metal claw. But that would serve to prove nothing.

I let my claws fade, and again using the knowledge my dad gave me, I created a staff of glowing blue aura just like his.

After a moment of tense inactivity where we silently glared at each other, I decided to start things off by using extremespeed. I used the attack to appear to the left of him and I swung the staff to my right. He barely blocked the attack aimed at his midsection and retaliated by throwing a force palm directly into my side.

The attack send me sliding back a few steps, but I kept standing.

"Why don't you just give up? We both know I'm stronger than you." Despite his words, he was breathing hard and a quick look at his aura told me that he was tiring.

"Yeah, not gonna happen. You're not about to take her from me!"

Fully intent on ending the fight, I ran towards him with my bone rush extended so that it pointed right at him.

He began to move, to dodge my seemingly stupid move, but I put my paw behind the staff and used force palm to send it flying at him.

He didn't stand a chance of dodging it. Most aura related objects dissipate after being separated from whoever created it, aura sphere being an obvious exception. So it's an understatement to say he wasn't expecting my bone rush to come flying at him at speeds fast enough to hear it cutting the air around it with a slight whistle.

It slammed into his chest, directly into his chest spike. (I saw the top half of his chest spike crack and disintegrate under the impact.) He continued flying backwards until his momentum was dropped painfully by slamming hard enough into a wall to leave a noticeable crack in the brick.

My bone rush disappeared with his impact and he collapsed to the ground, no longer able to stay conscious from the abuse his body endured.

Once I realized this, I got out of my battle stance and finally noticed the large crowd of Pokemon around me. They were all watching a good distance away in silence.

That is, until a few started cheering and then they all began to give different sounds and declarations of their enjoyment of the fight.

I just kinda stood there and, after getting over the surprise, waved and smiled at them. After a few more seconds of this, they all started to disperse, going their own ways.

I located where Andrea had been when I last saw her and walked to her.

She had a oddly teary expression and I asked, "I'm sorry. I just couldn't let him get away with being so rude to you."

She paused, and wiped at her eyes before giving me a hug and saying, "it's not that. I was just scared of you getting hurt. Don't scare me like that again!"

I returned her hug and said, "trust me. I'll try to avoid fights from now on."

As the hug went on, I saw a Lucario staring at us with a jealous look and I glared at him. He then decided that it was time to be somewhere else and that there were plenty of OTHER fish in the sea.

It felt good to be able to scare off anybody who wanted Andrea. Before I could fully enjoy this feeling, someone poked me in my side, directly where he had used force palm, and I hissed in pain when I felt it sting.

I let go of Andrea and turned to Luna with groan as I held the spot.

"That hurts," I said in a whiny tone, completely unlike my tone during the battle only a few minutes earlier.

Luna grinned and said, "I know. He got you good. But I think you got him a little better."

I snorted and looked over to where another Lucario was carrying away his still unconscious form. I saw how his chest spike was only about half the size it should have been and the surface of the once-spike was bumpy and rugged.

While the spikes on Lucario did grow back if broken or damaged, it took a long time. I judged that it would take his spike at least two or three months to get back to the way it was before I got to it.

I felt a sense of primal satisfaction at the sight of his unconscious form, and then I felt shock at the feeling. I had never really been much of a fighter as a human. I wasn't a pacifist by any means, but I never got much enjoyment out of fighting in any physical way unless it was a friendly fight where both sides were doing it just to test their skills and have a little fun. Serious fights, like the one I had just participated in? It would've left me with a sour feeling in my stomach.

"Jacob? Are you alright?" I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to Andrea.

"I'm okay. Let's just get to Pip and see if she can fix you up."

Andrea gave me a blank look before I saw realization come into her eyes and she went, "oh!"

I blinked and asked, "did you really forget why we came?"

She looked down and said, "just for a second."

I resisted the urge to laugh and instead said, "c'mon. Luna, you can lead the way."

Luna nodded and began to walk. I started to follow, but stumbled badly and nearly fell.

Andrea steadied me with her paw and said, "what's wrong?"

I felt the exhaustion crawl over me as the last of the adrenalin and the boosting aura left my system, leaving me weak and barely able to move.

Luna looked back at us and said, "you must be pretty tired. You'll probably need a hand walking after that battle."

She started to move forward and grab my left arm to help support me, but Andrea leaned forward aggressively and said, "I've got him."

I'm not sure who was more surprised. Me or Luna. But Luna back off and said, "okay, he's all yours."

Andrea got in a position where she bore some of my weight, making it somewhat easier to walk.

We then began walking to Luna's house, rather slowly because of me. I admit, we would have gone faster if Andrea had let Luna help me, but I wasn't about to suggest letting another female move onto her territory.

... wait. Her Territory? Me? Well, technically, I had sort of claimed her by winning the battle. Maybe the more primal parts of her being were simply saying, "he will care for you. Don't let anyone get a piece of that!" I wonder if it was wrong to feel so proud that she didn't want anybody moving in on me?

I shook the thoughts from my head and concentrated on walking.

We got to Luna's home and went inside to find Pip and Narri sitting around the table, glaring at me as we walked in. I suddenly felt a little better. Or at least better enough to stand up on my own without having Andrea support me. Perhaps it was the little voice (not my dad's) telling me to run that gave me the strength.

Thankfully, by the unspoken Law of the Host, the glares disappeared at the sight of the appointed Guest (Andrea).

"Hey Pip, Narri. This is Andrea," I decided to move things along, and hopefully distract them long enough for me to give my excuse.

Pip stood and said, "pleasure to meet you, Andrea. Please, have a seat so we can try to turn you back human."

Andrea sat in a chair that Pip pulled up and I said, "I hope you figured out another method than what we did last time?"

Pip nodded.

"Yes. I have another idea that will not require you to take the aura back into your body. I just need to examine Andrea before we try it. Sorry, but please go outside."

I nodded and headed outside. Before I could close the door behind me, I felt something block it, and turned with a rising sense of dread to see Narri standing behind me with a smile that was Too pleasant to be real.

"Hey Jacob, let's talk," Narri said as he pulled the door closed behind him.

I backed up a few steps and immediately said, "I know you're probably angry that I forgot to mention my dad-"

"Nope," he interrupted me and I stopped in surprise.

Then his expression turned angry and he said, "I'm pissed! How in Arceus' name could you forget to tell us something so important!"

I raised my paws and said, "well, I have some new information that might interest you."

He paused, then crossed his arms, waiting for me to talk.

I got right into it.

"My dad talked to me last night via a dream. He said," I then proceeded to tell him everything my dad had said, barring the pokeball suggestion. I still wasn't ready for that. I did tell him about how my dad transferred his skills to me.

When I finished, Narri had a worried expression and he asked, "and you're sure he said he turned into a Lucario, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but he was human in the dream. He was also covered in these blue flames that were kind of in the shape of a Lucario."

Narri nodded and said, "I hope that's enough. I think I may have something that could help you-"

"You can come back in now," Pip's voice came from inside and Narri stopped talking.

"Just show me later," I said as we walked back inside to see the three of them standing up heading our way.

I move back to get out of their way and Luna said, "we have to go to the training field for this. Mom said it aught to work better the more nature we're surrounded by."

I gave a questioning look to Pip, but she said, "it's complicated. I'll explain when we get there. How about you tell me how you got so beat up looking?"

I winced at the reminder of the pain I had temporarily forgotten.

"Lets just say that someone was rude to Andrea, and I couldn't forgive him for it. He's much worse off than I am." I had started out speaking in a serious tone, and finished with an quieter angry one.

I jumped when Andrea touched my arm and I noticed that my paws were clenched. I relaxed them and said, "sorry. Let's go and get you back normal."

Andrea held my paw as we started walking towards the training field.

Luna, Narri, and Pip walked in a loose line in front of us while Me and Andrea followed a little ways behind.

This time, as we walked through the village, I allowed myself to feel the collective emotions directed towards us, and more specifically, Andrea.

While the jealousy was still there, it was much less than before. Apparently most of of the males had gotten the unspoken message that I had sent out with my victory.

She's mine. Try and take her, and you're going to deal with me. Disrespect her, and only Arceus Himself can protect you from my wrath.

Most gave a little wistful look at Andrea before looking away. Some looked at her, noticed me, and suddenly had far more interesting things to look at. It felt good, knowing that no one was going to try for Andrea again. Getting beat up a little was well worth it when the end result was Andrea being left alone.

I saw the little signs that indicated communication via aura between Pip and Narri as we walked. (You have to watch their body language and a few other things to know if someone is being spoken to telepathically or in some other obscure method.) I assumed that he had told Pip about how I now had my father's abilities with aura, or at least the know-how, because she turned and gave me a look that seemed to study me for a few seconds.

"What does that mean?", Andrea asked as we walked down the street, pointing towards a store with a single picture of a necklace painted on its door.

"That place sells jewelry. You want to go inside and look?" Technically, the place sold stones that can enhance certain aspects of Pokemon, but some Pokemon enjoyed wearing them as jewelry. (No, they are not like drugs and have no known serious downsides to their usage.)

"If we're not in a rush," she said while looking at Pip and Narri for an answer.

Pip smiled and waved her paw.

"Go ahead. I'm going to go and test out the method we're going to try to use. Just come when you're finished."

We nodded our confirmation and Narri walked off with Pip while Luna headed to the store with us. She really wasn't much of a fan of wearing enhancements, but she liked to look occasionally.

I entered, hearing the familiar ring of the stores bell summon the owner of the store from the back room he always liked to nap in.

Bud, the friendliest Blaziken you will ever meet, came out from the back room with his signature smile. (What? You thought the whole village was 100% Lucario and Riolu? Nope.)

"Hiya there! Welcome to my shop. Are you looking for anything in particular, or just looking around?"

"Just looking around, thanks Bud."

Bud's smile faded and he said, "have we met before? I can't say I remember your face. Did you evolve recently?"

I chuckled and said, "it's me, Jacob. Long story. This is my girlfriend, Andrea."

Andrea nodded politely to Bud, and he lost his shocked expression in exchange for his pleasant smile as he nodded back to Andrea.

The shop displayed its wares in different ways. Some were in locked cabinets with glass to see the item without touching it. Others were sitting on open shelves with their names and affects written next to them.

All three of us sort of split up and began roaming the shop in different areas. I went and looked at the items on the shelves, curious as to what it would feel like to add their affects to my already almost overpowered system. I was particularly curious what an arm-band that was said to increase your aura storing abilities would do if I put it on. Probably be like, "nope, not even gonna try," and explode. Yes, some items have been known to explode. But that's rare.

When I was finished looking at them, and fantasizing about their possible affects, I walked to where Bud was sitting, polishing a small gem that I recognized as a fire stone.

"Have anything interesting to point out?" While just about everything he had was out in the open where people could see and look for themselves, Bud sometimes had items that he got and couldn't be sure what they were worth. So, until he decides on a price or finds out what it's worth, he usually keeps it in the back.

If you asked nicely, he might pull out one of those items and see if you know what it is or if you want to buy it.

He thought for a moment and put the fire stone down.

"I got something about a week ago. I have no clue what it's worth, but I'll let you have a look at it."

He walked into the back room and returned a minute later with a small ornate box.

He set the box down gently and opened it to show a small object wrapped up in a cloth. He removed the object and carefully unwrapped the cloth to show a rather dull dark-blue stone.

"I bought it off a Sableye who said it wasn't worth eating because it wasn't like any other stone he had found before and he said it tasted bad. I never heard of a Sableye not liking a stone of any kind just because it "tasted bad". So I bought it off of him for practically nothing. Do you know what it is?"

I looked closer at the stone. It was about the size of a golf ball, but it was in an oval shape instead of a spherical form. I couldn't see any scratches on its surface, despite the fact a Sableye, a species known well for their taste for rare rocks, had it within its grasp and ripe for the munching. It also wasn't bumpy, but smooth. Something that you do not see very often on stones that come straight from nature.

"Do you mind if I pick it up? I just want to see what it feels like."

"Just be careful, please."

I nodded and reached down to pick up the blue stone. The moment my paw touched the stone, it brightened and I snatched my paw back in surprise. It was now a much lighter color of blue than it was before I touched it.

"What did you do? It never did that when me or that Sableye touched it." Bud looked at the stone warily as he poked it, to find the stone not change a bit at his touch.

"I didn't do anything. It just did that on its own."

Bud picked the stone up again, and his eyes widened.

"It feels... different. Like its heavier than before," he set the stone down and said, "please try touching it again. I want to see if it will do anything else."

I wanted to see what would happen as well, but I was also concerned at what might happen when I did.

"How about we take it outside? Just in case it does something that might damage your shop?"

Bud blinked and nodded with a mareepish smile.

"Yeah, let's do that. Excuse me," he called to Andrea and Luna, who turned to look at us, "can you please come with us outside? We are going to test out something and I shouldn't leave the store unattended with people still inside." He covered the stone in the cloth again and put it back into the box.

"No problem," Luna said as she opened the door and flipped a small sign that indicated that the shop was closed. Both of us had helped Bud out in different ways in his shop when we were younger. We mostly did it because we were interested in all the shiny stuff and we got to be close to all of it if we helped him. Thus, we knew our way around the store.

Andrea put the necklace she had been examining back on the shelf and followed us as we went out of the shop and a little ways into the woods so anything that happened would not affect any buildings, hopefully.

Bud located a tall stump and set the box down on it before taking out the stone and unwrapping the cloth from around it. He put the stone, still laying on the cloth, on the stump and stepped back.

"Okay, this time, try poking it and jumping back. Just in case something bad does happen."

As I reached down to touch the stone, Andrea shouted, "hold on! What if he does get hurt?"

I stopped, and said, "it's weird, but I don't think this thing is very dangerous. And anyways, Pokemon bodies are very resilient. I'm hardly hurting despite the fact I was in a battle only a little while ago. But if you don't want me to mess with it, I won't."

She thought for a moment before saying, "fine. But if you get hurt, I'm kicking your furry behind so hard that you'll be pulling hair out when you turn back human."

I flinched and placed my hands over my rear protectively, much to Luna's amusement, before nodding my agreement.

Turning back to the stone, I reached down to touch it again. I barely brushed the stone before vaulting backwards as the stone became a lighter shade of blue than a few seconds previous. Perhaps it was just me, or it seemed to glow slightly from reflecting the suns rays off its now brightly-colored smooth surface.

We waited for it to do anything else, but it just sat there. Still shiny.

Bud moved forward and carefully prodded the stone before picking it up. Still no reaction from the blue stone.

Bud put the stone down and said, "okay, now I want you to try picking it up-"

"What!", Andrea burst out and I held my paws up in a placating gesture.

"Don't worry, Andrea. I've known Bud forever. He wouldn't do anything to harm me."

"He really wouldn't," Luna added.

Andrea finally relented and I went back to the stump.

Everyone, except me, took an unconscious step backwards from the stone when I reached to pick it up.

As I picked it up, held in the middle of my open paw, the stone slowly became heavier. Like it was being filled with something that it did not have before. I waited with baited breath until the stone stopped getting heavier and it finally decided to stop changing its shade of blue.

When it finished. It felt about as heavy as a baseball and it was the same color as the sky on a cloudless day around noon-time. When I felt as though it had finished, whatever it was doing, I brought it to my face and looked at it a little closer. It was the same size and shape as it was before its transformation(?). The only physical differences that seemed to change were its weight and its shinier outside. It was still very smooth and still had no scratches or imperfections that I could see.

"Well?", I heard Bud ask after a few seconds.

I looked up and saw him standing a good four or five steps back from where he had been before I picked up the stone.

"I think it stopped. What now?"

"Try shooting off an aura sphere while holding the stone," Luna suggested and Bud nodded his encouragement.

I turned to where no one was standing and I shot off a weak aura sphere at a tree. It did what I expected it to, nothing special.

There was a minute of disappointed silence before Bud spoke up with, "well, it doesn't seem to enhance your aura capabilities. Not that I can tell anyways. Do you feel any different with it in your paw?"

"Not really. And I don't think it's an enhancer," at their questioning looks, I explained, "something just seems to tell me that it's purpose isn't to enhance."

"What do you think it's used for?", Andrea asked, stepping a little closer as she asked.

I opened my mouth to answer that I didn't know, when suddenly I just seemed to "_know_".

"It's some sort of tool," I said with a certainty that I really shouldn't have possessed. It wasn't my dad's voice talking to me, this felt different. Like the stone held some form of sentience that was pushing me closer to knowing what it was.

"Maybe we should let mom take a look at it. She might know what it is."

I nodded at Luna's suggestion and turned to Bud.

"What do you want for this?"

He blinked and I had the distinct feeling he had completely forgotten that he was selling the stone, as caught up with experimenting with it as he was.

"Er, well. How about we make a deal? If you promise to mess around with the stone and find out all that it can do, then come back and tell me what it does, you can have it for free. That way, if I get any more in stock, I can know what they are worth. So, deal?"

He held out his paw and I shook it.

"Deal. Now we'll be going. I'll see you later."

Bud waved to us as we headed to the training field and he went back to his shop.

We arrived at the training field and saw Pip and Narri standing next to the edge and made our way to them.

"Hey, sorry for keeping you waiting," I said as we approached to catch their attention.

They turned and Pip said, "buy anything interesting?"

"Yeah, but I'll show you later," I put the stone down a little ways away in the cloth that Bud let me keep to protect it.

Pip looked at it, but didn't ask. Instead, she waved for Andrea and me to come closer.

"Alright. Here's the plan. Since we can't put all of Andrea's transforming aura into Jacob, because that might seriously hurt him, I've decided to just put it back into nature."

She waited a second for us to comment, but got nothing aside from blank looks.

"Anyways. What we're going to do is use Jacob's aura as bait, once again to lure the aura out, and this time we will send the aura into the surrounding plant life and this area in general. Since all aura originally came from the earth, it won't damage anything if we send it back."

Once she finished, and we both gave semi-confirmations that we understood, we all sat down next to a cluster of trees.

Pip sat behind Andrea and put one of her paws on her back. She had me sit on their right sides and put a paw on Andrea's shoulder while Pip held her other paw on my back.

Once we were in these positions, Pip said, "now, you're going to feel aura sliding through your body. Be sure to NOT try and take that aura. But you are going to have to concentrate on allowing it to pass through your system. If you don't, then your body will unconsciously block the flow and this will not work. When you feel it flowing through your body, just be ready to release it in any direction except the way it came. Ready?"

I swallowed and was about to nod, but then Andrea shouted, "wait!"

"What's wrong," I asked her.

She seemed to blush slightly and she said, "umm, we forgot to grab me some clothes."

There was a moment of complete silence, filled with awkwardness.

Then Narri said, "I'll go grab you some. Go ahead and start, I'll probably be back by the time you finish." He turned and began sprinting back towards his home and Pip refocused on the task at hand.

"Don't worry, it will take a little while for the reverse transformation to actually start. He'll be back before then. Now, are you ready?"

Andrea nodded and Pip closed her eyes in preparation.

Like last time, I stayed perfectly still and made sure that my paw would not come off of Andrea.

I felt a bit of my aura slip away for almost a full minute before it came back. Then, it was followed by what could only be described as a torrent of aura. I had to force myself to not try and stop it from entering my body. Then I had to make sure not to try and take the aura back into my system. I doubt I would have survived the experience, had I allowed it to return to me.

The best way I could compare it is to picture myself as a planet. And a stream of asteroids are flying by me. For whatever reason, I have to stay close enough for the asteroids to be influenced by my gravity, but far away enough that they do not get pulled onto my surface.

When it felt like my, "pull", was right, I began envisioning the aura leaving my body and travelling deep within the earth. Eventually, I found a point where I could both let the flow travel through my body and release it into the earth steadily and I held it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Andrea become surrounded in blue. Like Alex, when we got rid of his ears, but on a much bigger scale. Her features became indistinct and she was covered in the writhing blue. Little by little, the blue began to fade into her. I saw her hair become blonde and soon her face started returning to normal. It seemed to focus on her head first. I promised myself to look away the second the rest of her body began to transform back.

When her face was almost purely human, I felt something inside my body seem to jump and suddenly the flow of aura that was a torrent, became a flood. I couldn't control it and my body threw up defenses without my consent. It started to feel like something was burning in my core and I looked to see Andrea's partial reverse transformation begin to undo it's hard work in only a few seconds.

I panicked, and immediately snatched my paw from Andrea.

It was a stupid mistake. My dad's voice began shrieking at me that my body needed to get rid of a lot of aura, or I was going to die. Even as I processed his words, I could feel my heart begin to pulse faster and harder until it began to get painful.

Working with a combination of instinct and my dad's knowledge, I slammed my paws against the ground and sent the flood of aura into the earth, ridding myself of as much as possible in as little amount of time.

The world around me became insignificant. I was too busy shoving aura into the earth to notice anything else. Once I felt as though I had gotten rid of all the possibly lethal aura, and maybe a little more, I opened my eyes and my body collapsed.

"Jacob!", several voices called out and I felt myself get pushed so I was laying on my back. My hearing seemed to be malfunctioning at the time, but my vision was alright. So I could see what everyone was doing.

Pip began checking my body and aura for injury while Luna helped her out. Andrea was on her knees holding my paw and she was crying. Narri was standing nearby and I could tell he was worried by how hard he held the clothes in his paws.

I focused in on Andrea and I smiled. Our attempt was not a complete failure. I saw that her hair on the top of her head was much longer and more like her human hair. It was also the same blonde hair she had as a human. I saw that, aside from the black mask-like fur on her face and the aura sensing organs, all the fur on her head was blonde (ears included). From her shoulder to her elbow, the fur was also blonde on each arm. Her hips were now an interesting blend of both blonde and blue fur. Everything else stayed the same, that I could tell.

"Is he gonna be alright?", Andrea asked Pip, I was able to read her lips and I could start to hear a little bit through the haze.

Pip nodded and said, "after a little rest and no aura use for a few hours. He should be back to normal, if with a few aches and pains."

Andrea nodded and then turned back to me with a look that scared me slightly.

She then proceeded to slap me across my face very painfully.

"You idiot! You could've been killed!"

Yup, that's her way of showing love. I probably deserved it, but still. It hurt!

* * *

And thus, my longest chapter comes to an end. It was a fun one to write. Please leave your thoughts and suggestions in a review. Always a pleasure to see those. Feel free to ask for me to put in certain Pokemon or just suggestions in general. I'll also be glad to answer any questions you might want to ask.

Talkingbirdguy, out :).


	10. A Strange Tale

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 10

Hey everyone. Sorry for taking so long on getting this out. Life has been busy busy busy. Thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy :).

(And this chapter will answer the question as to what that mysterious blue stone is.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Chapter 10

A Strange Tale

* * *

JACOB'S POV

Once Pip decided it was ok for me to start moving around again, and I was able to see and hear normally, that's when I asked about Andrea's new appearance.

"Why did it work only partly? Why not complete success or complete failure?", I asked as I rested against a tree, still not feeling completely up to moving on my own just yet.

Pip thought for a moment before answering with, "well, for the question as to why it worked only a little bit, it was because of that stupid stunt you pulled! I told you not to take your hand off of her and you did so anyways!"

I flinched, truly surprised and a little bit scared at her intense expression. While she had gotten angry with me before, I was a kid after all, she had never seemed quite this irate before.

"If we hadn't already taken so much out of her by the time you took your hand off, the backlash could have easily killed all three of us! The only reason she didn't just transform back into a Lucario, like she would have if you kept your hand on her, is because you cut off the flow. For whatever reason, something inside of you reacted negatively when we tried to drain Andrea of the transforming aura. To counteract our efforts, it unleashed that huge wave of aura that you no doubt felt. It would have attempted to push against the aura I was trying to get out of Andrea, but you broke contact and the aura had no place to go."

She then got a less severe look and said, "if it wasn't for you expelling all that aura into the ground, all three of us would have been severely injured."

With this somber note, we all fell silent for awhile.

Then Narri spoke up with, "so where do things stand now? Do you think we will be able to help Andrea turn back after that?"

Pip hesitated and shook her head, much to both Andrea's disappointment and mine.

"I don't think so. Especially not so soon after the last try. Whatever prevented us from turning her back to normal will be actively watching out for the next attempt. Aura can almost be sentient when it comes to the protection of whoever it's inside. I'm afraid what might happen if we do it again."

I slumped and said to Andrea, "I'm sorry I screwed it up for you."

Andrea smiled and said, "don't worry about it. We'll figure something else back. At least I got something that will make it impossible for you to mistake me for any other female Lucario."

I stood and grabbed her paw as I said, "I could never make the mistake of thinking another Lucario was you, different coloring or not."

Andrea smiled and there was a tender moment where we both looked at each other in affection.

"Oi! Get a cave, you two!" Then there was Luna, completely shattering the moment.

I heard an impact on flesh and Luna said, "ow!"

I made a mental note to thank Narri later for smacking Luna, before letting go of Andrea's paw and turning to the other three.

I made a decision on the spot and said, "I'm going to introduce Andrea to the hot springs for awhile."

Narri brightened and he stepped forward, probably about to eagerly agree and come with us, but Pip snatched him back by his tail and said with a smile, "okay. We'll be heading back home. Make sure you stop by for lunch before you go."

I nodded and, after grabbing the mysterious blue stone, led Andrea to the hot springs.

We were given a few odd looks, but thanks to my new reputation, we were left alone.

I managed to locate an empty pool and we entered the steaming water. (I set the stone nearby, so I wouldn't forget it.) We both sat and relaxed for awhile, enjoying the steaming water.

After few minutes, I scooted closer to her, leaving enough space for her to not be uncomfortable and have the option to easily close the small amount between us.

She chose to do the latter. I put my arm around her and she laid her head in the curve of my neck while I rested my head gently on top of hers. We sat there in comfortable silence. Just listening to the occasional bubble break the surface of the pool and the near inaudible conversations of other occupants of various pools. It was incredibly peaceful. And, to top it all off, I could see that Andrea was perfectly content and happy. Something that she hadn't been ever since I accidentally transformed her.

But, like all good things, they must end. After a couple hours of deep relaxation, Luna's voice came to me in my head.

"It's about time for lunch. You might want to start heading to our house. That is, unless you two are, "busy"."

My body stiffened at her innuendo and Andrea asked, "something wrong?"

I forced away the mental image that rose, with some difficulty, and said, "Luna just told me it's about time for lunch and we should be headed to their house soon."

I gave a quick mental confirmation that we were on our way, and sent the mental equivalent of a scathing glare to her before severing the connection.

We got out of the water and I used the technique that Narri had showed me to dry off. And, with a method that my dad's voice suggested, I used my own aura to force the water out of Andrea's fur since she didn't know how. Even though I did what my dad suggested, she was still slightly damp. I didn't have enough control to force all the water off.

But, since she insisted that she was alright, I dropped it and after I grabbed the stone, we began walking to their house, holding hands.

More odd looks met us as we walked through the village, but my reputation made it start and end at the looks. I felt Andrea's discomfort at the stares, and I pulled her a little closer and whispered, "don't worry about them. They just haven't ever seen someone as pretty as you here before."

This served the twin purposes of giving her a nice compliment and making her discomfort disappear perfectly.

We arrived at Luna's home and went inside to find a meal of assorted berries waiting for us. After eating, Andrea offered to help clean up and I was about to offer assistance, but Narri cut me off, reminding me of his possible way of helping me find my dad.

So, with Pip's insistence that we go while they take care of cleaning up, Narri led me outside and we went a good ways away from in the village, in the forest.

Once he stopped, he turned to me and said, "okay. Let's hope this works for humans who have turned into Lucario. If not, then we'll have to come up with something else. Observe."

He held up his right paw and concentrated for a moment. A small orb of blue light, similar to an aura sphere but not the same, appeared in his paw. Whereas an aura sphere looks like it's moving around constantly and glows brightly, the thing in Narri's paw did neither. It floated above his paw, serene and almost mist-like.

After a second, Narri opened his eyes and I asked, "what move is that? I've never seen it before?"

I smiled and said, "it's not exactly a move. It's a pretty advanced ability that solely Lucario are able to do. No other species, not even those who turn into Lucario (Mew being the only possible exception), can use this. The reason for this is because it is used to find the aura of your family. Watch."

I leaned closer and I saw two small red dots appear on the orb. When it did nothing else, I looked at Narri with a questioning look.

"Look at the direction the dots are facing," he instructed, and I saw they were pointing back towards the village. Specifically, back towards Narri's home.

"Those two dots Luna and Pip," I said, piecing it together at last.

Narri nodded and let the orb fade and his paw fall.

"Humans can't learn this either. They can't because they are not in tune with nature like Pokemon are. This ability basically reads the planet's aura, and looks specifically for those who you have a special connection to. A long time ago, humans were able to do this. But not any more. I'm hoping that you and your father are now in tune with nature enough for you to be able to pull this off."

He then went on to explain how exactly to use this ability. For once, the voice in my head was silent and offered no advice due to this being something my dad had no knowledge about.

Once the explanation was done with, I raised my paw and concentrating on connecting my own aura to that of everything around me. Once I was able to create a connection to the natural aura around me, it seemed to branch off automatically. For a few seconds, I felt my consciousness expand and it would not be an exaggeration to say that I saw almost everything on the planet for a split second.

But, since the mind isn't meant to see or process things like that, I was immediately yanked back down to earth and the orb in my paw began glowing completely red as I came back into my own head.

"What's wrong with it?"

"You're detecting about everything alive. You need to focus on your family for it to work. It should only pick up your father, since he's the only person you've got a close enough connection to who can connect to the planet's aura, hopefully. Just concentrate on only detecting the aura of those who are close to you."

I nodded, closed my eyes, and focused solely on trying to find those close to me.

"Look!" I opened my eyes to see that my orb was no longer covered in red. Instead, it was almost exactly like Narri's was. Serene and almost completely blue.

I saw the tiny red dot that, hopefully, meant my father after only a glance at the orb.

"Yes! It works! Now we can find him easily-"

"Hold up," Narri interrupted me and leaned in closer to the orb, "look right here," he said as he pointed at another, noticeably larger, dot on the orb.

"Wait, what? I thought you said it would only detect my dad? It isn't even pointing towards the village or you."

"Hmmmm. Well, you're right that it's not pointing towards Luna, Pip, Andrea, or me. I think that's the direction of your house, if I'm not mistaken."

"Well, it can't be picking up my mom. It would have to pick up my other relatives if that was the case and I don't see any other dots. Maybe the planet's aura is sending me wrong signals?"

Narri gave me a, "are you serious," look, and said, "please tell me you didn't just suggest that the planet is doing something wrong?"

I let the orb fade and held up my paws in a surrendering gesture.

"Okay, yeah, that was a stupid idea. But what could be wrong? I'm almost certain I'm doing it correctly."

Narri shook his head and said, "I'm not sure. The dot gets bigger and bigger until the entire orb is red when you get close to whatever is causing the dot. Considering its already that big, it wouldn't surprise me if you were picking up your mom's aura, for whatever reason."

I nodded and said, "whatever. At least we now have a way to find my dad. I can just go and as Rick to have a physic type teleport us around until-"

"I'm afraid that won't work," Narri interrupted me, again.

"Why not?"

"Due to teleporting being a physic ability, it would cause you to lose the ability to connect to the planet's aura for a long time. If that happens, then you would have no way of finding your father with that method for at least a month."

"A month! Why a month!?"

He shrugged and my face fell.

"No one knows. That's just about the time it takes for your aura to become back "in tune" with the planet's aura. There's no way around it that I know of."

"What about flying?"

He shook his head and I felt my body droop further.

"Nope. While flying is natural for flying type Pokemon, you have to be connected with good ole terra firma to be able to connect with the planet's aura. It would take about three or four days for your aura to reconnect properly with the planet's if you spend any large amount of time in the air. Sorry. But at least any land or sea transport is okay for you to use. Just try to be sure to use it while on land. Using it while at sea messes with it a little."

I fell on my back and moaned to the leafy overhead and the sky beyond, "why do there have to be so many freaking RULES? Why can't it be simple?"

Narri gave me a pitying smile and said, "sorry. That's just the way things are."

I suddenly sat up when I remembered my dad telling me about when he had been captured by Team Styx and how Narri had helped the WPO locate him. "Couldn't you still sense my dad when you teleported around a long time ago? What's different now?"

He developed a far-away look and said, "it's because I didn't use the method that you are using now. For whatever reason, your father and I had some sort of bond that came into being when he turned into a Lucario. That was a one of a kind thing that no one has heard of or seen before. What you're using is a method that has been used for a very long time and has been tested extensively."

He lost the look in his eye and said, "so unless you have some unexplainable feeling of being drawn towards a certain direction, you're stuck with this method."

I nodded and got back on my feet.

"I probably need to get back home and tell my mom what happened. Then we can call Rick and tell him about this and see if I can help find my dad."

Narri agreed with a nod and we started back to his home.

"Oh, I forgot to ask. What did you get from Bud's shop? Anything interesting?"

I nearly smacked myself in my head when I suddenly remembered the blue stone I had left in my chair back at Narri's house. I couldn't believe that I had forgotten it!

"I'm really not sure what it is. Bud doesn't even know what it is. But, for whatever reason, it reacted to my touch and not Bud's. I'm hoping you or Pip will know what it is or what it does."

I could feel Narri's interest rise and he started walking a little faster, to my amusement.

We walked back to the sight of the three major females in my life, barring my mother, laughing loudly at something that was said moments before we walked in.

"What's so funny?", I asked.

And like that, all was silent. If that wasn't a clue enough, none of them were meeting my eyes.

My eyes narrowed and I asked, "were you three talking about me?"

"No," they answered in union and my eyes narrowed further.

"Riiight," I said, my tone telling them that I didn't believe them in the slightest.

"Anyways. I was hoping you could tell me about," I picked up the stone that was still wrapped up in the cloth and held it up, "this."

Pip got an interested face and looked at the cloth with an interested stare.

"Is that what you got at Bud's? I've been meaning to ask about it."

"Yup," I took a seat next to her, "I've never seen anything like it, and neither has Bud."

I unwrapped the cloth from around the stone and held it in my open paw for everyone to see.

Pip looked at it closely as I told her and Narri about how it reacted to my touch and not Bud's or the Sableye's.

When I finished, Luna leaned forward and tried to pick it out of my paw.

Keyword: tried.

The moment she was about to pick it up, the stone seemed to turn into a liquid in a blink of an eye and dart away from Luna's reaching paw. It reformed back into a stone on my shoulder so quickly that I almost missed it.

We all stopped moving the moment it moved and I could only watch the motionless stone out of the corner of my eye, not wanting to move my head and possibly annoy it. If it could be annoyed. Even my aura sensing organs on that side lifted slightly away from the stone

After a moment of not moving, Pip said, "Jacob. Try and pick it up. I don't think it will hurt you."

I slowly reached up to my shoulder and picked up the stone. It made no reaction to my touch, like usual.

I held it out in my open paw again and Pip said, "I think I have an idea of what it may be. Try giving it to me."

She held out her paw and I slowly transferred the stone from my paw to hers, waiting for it to do something strange. Nothing happened, and Pip looked even closer at the stone.

"If what I'm thinking is correct, then Jacob, you are one lucky Lucario. Here," she handed back the stone in a much faster manner that I had given it to her, wordlessly saying that the stone was not dangerous.

I held the stone in my closed paw and said, "so what is it? And how am I lucky?"

Pip smiled and said, "that right there is what is called an Aura Stone."

She said it in such a way that she seemed to expect us to gasp in amazement or something of the sort. I peeked at Narri to see that he had a clueless look along with the rest of us.

Instead, she got me saying, "that's not the most original title."

Pip's head fell and she said, "THAT is what you decide to say?"

"Well it isn't!", I tried to defend my words and Pip just rolled her eyes.

"Problem with title aside. What you have is an unbelievably rare, extremely old, and one of a kind item."

I looked at the stone with new respect and said, "so what exactly is it? From the sound of your voice, it seems like it can do much more than that no-touchie trick."

Pip rolled her eyes and said, "that's just a defense mechanism. The reason it did that is because it is now bonded to you and only you. No one can touch it without your permission and it will react in such a way to prevent anyone from messing with it. That's why, when Luna tried to grab it, it relocated itself in a spot that Luna could not reach on your person. And when you handed it to me, nothing happened."

I nodded my understanding and said, "so how is it one of a kind? If you've heard about it from somewhere, then it has to be well known enough for word to reach you."

"I heard about it from an elder Lucario when I was really young. It was said that Aura Stones," she ignored my grin at its cliche name, "can contain the mind of a powerful aura user."

My grin vanished and I looked at the stone in a completely different light.

"As to how they are created. The Lucario who told me this told me that they are given to those who have done remarkable things in their life, directly from Arceus Himself. If a person is deemed worthy enough, and is strong enough in the use of aura, then before he or she dies, Arceus offers them an Aura Stone. They are allowed to decide whether or not to transfer their minds into the Aura Stone and help pass on their knowledge to future generations. If they do decide to, then Arceus helps them seal their minds into the Aura Stone and puts them in a kind of hibernation until someone with strong enough aura comes along and wakes the Stone up."

She fell silent and we all stared at the stone like we expected it to start spewing out the lost secrets of the past any second.

"Or, at least that's what the old Lucario said. We have no way of knowing if it's true, yet," Pip said with a shrug and I rolled my eyes.

"And here I was getting excited," I said before standing up.

"Thanks for telling us this, and helping with Andrea. But I think it's about time for my mom to hear about how it went and for Rick to hear about how I can help find my dad."

We said our goodbyes and, after wrapping the stone back in its cloth, we headed back to my truck. I held the Aura Stone in one paw and Andrea's paw in the other.

No one bothered us as we made our way through the village and to my truck. I started to put the pants back on, but Andrea said, "you don't have to, if you don't want to. I-I", she stuttered slightly, "-I think I'm going to do away with clothes as well. It's not as hot hot and more comfortable."

I nodded and smiled. At least she was finally accepting being a Lucario.

After tossing the shorts in the backseat of my truck, I checked my phone to see two missed calls from my mom.

I thought about calling her back, but decided to just talk to her when I got home. It wasn't too long of a drive.

* * *

We drove back to my house and I asked Andrea to wait for a moment before we went inside. I then used the ability that Narri introduced to me earlier. This time, the orb was almost completely red. And I knew I did it correctly. For whatever reason, I was detecting my mom's aura.

Then I remembered, my mom was supposed to be out running errands. Why was she home? Did she finish early?

I let the orb disappear and said, "c'mon. Let's go and tell her the good news."

Andrea nodded and we both went to the front door. I held the door for her and when I came in, I called out, "Mom?"

"In here, Jacob! I've got something to show you!", my mom's voice came from her room and I made my way there with Andrea trailing behind.

I opened the partially closed door of my parent's bedroom and my jaw promptly dropped.

"Mom!?"

"Yup," my mom said as she smoothed some of her fur.

Yes. Fur.

My mom was a Lucario.

"How did this happen!? I thought the barrier had worked!", I said in a pained voice.

She waved her paws for me to calm down.

"Relax. It's not the first time-," then she closed her mouth with a snap and got a, "I should not have said that," look.

Both me and Andrea stood there in shock at her last statement until I so elegantly said, "...what?"

Lucy, who was sitting next to my mom on the bed, snorted and said, "she never told you about how I used to turn her into a Ninetales every summer when she was much younger."

My mom laughed at our incredulous expressions and said, "let's move to the living room and I'll tell you about it. Then, you can explain why Andrea is a different coloring now."

We nodded silently and went to the living room to listen to my mom's story.

* * *

HANNAH'S POV

Maybe I stayed up too late the night before playing with the various Pokemon around my grandpa's mansion. Since it was right next to the Sanctuary, there were so many kinds of Pokemon to play with and I stayed up very late trying to play with as many of them as I could. Since we only visit my grandpa's house every so often, I make sure to get in as much fun in as possible while we're there.

Because I was so tired, I walked/trudged down the stairs as I tried to blink away the sleep that lingered in my eyes. Due to this lack of attentiveness, I didn't even notice the long tan appendage that stretched out along the bottom of the stairs until my bare foot stomped right down on it.

I felt a surge of energy rush into me at the same time I heard Lucy, a Ninetales that my grandpa had given to me for my tenth birthday as an energetic little Vulpix, yelp loudly and snatch her tail out from under my foot.

Because of her reflexive snatching of her tail, I fell to the ground and let out a loud yelp when I hit the wooden floor.

Wait, yelp?

"Oh no! I just meant to give you hiccups! I'm so sorry!"

I looked up to the unfamiliar voice and saw Lucy standing there with a panicked expression.

"You just talked," is all I could say with a probably wide-eyed look of astonishment. In all the time I had her, she had never spoken a word I could understand.

Lucy then rolled her eyes and grinned.

"And so did you. Amazing, isn't it?"

"But, you're a Pokemon. How can I understand you?"

Lucy then got her apologetic look again and said, "you might want to take a look at yourself and ask me again."

Taking her advice, I looked down at myself.

I saw that my body was covered in tan fur and that I now had paws instead of hands. A further glance down my body let me see nine gloriously beautiful tails splayed out behind me. When I went a little cross-eyed and looked down, I saw that I had a snout. My pajamas were ripped apart and stretched over my body from the sudden transformation.

I was practically an exact copy of Lucy, with a few minor differences.

I gulped and said, "so. Grandpa wasn't joking when he said to not mess with your tails."

Lucy lost her apologetic look and instead got an angry expression.

"You should have watched where you were stepping!", she curled one of her tails, which had a little fur sticking up on it, and began smoothing it down carefully and with precise strokes of her tongue.

"Well I'm sorry," I huffed as I tried to stand up, "but you really should have not been sleeping near the stairs. If you lay where people walk, then sooner or later you're gonna get stepped on!"

She ignored me until her tail was smooth again then looked back at me.

"Okay. So we were both in the wrong. Let's just move on."

I resisted the urge to prove how she was the only one in the wrong, but put it off and instead said, "so can you turn me back? I did apologize."

"Nope," she said instantly.

"But why!" I managed to get up and I raised my tails slightly to balance easier.

"Because you stepped on my tail. A Ninetales' tail is a sacred thing and you have to learn your lesson from touching it without permission."

I huffed and managed to move one of my new tails near my face with only a thought.

When it came close to my face, I noticed that the fur was slightly ruffled and I felt a sense of pure wrongness at the sight. I immediately smoothed down the fur and checked my other tails for other things that would cause that feeling of wrongness.

Lucy watched patiently with a small grin until I finished.

Once I was in full control of my senses, I said, "alright. I get that I deserve to be punished for stepping on your tail," I mean, what kind of idiot would be so careless around such remarkable and beautiful appendages?

"But how long will this last? And can you remove it at any time?"

"I'm not sure how long it will last, and yes."

Before I could say any more, my mom came around the corner and paused when she saw the pair of Ninetales standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh, is this one of your friends, Lucy?"

I literally fell on my face from shock when she asked that question. (It didn't help that I wasn't entirely steady on my feet already.)

"Mom! It's me, Hannah!", I said as I got back on my feet.

"She can't understand you. She doesn't speak the Pokemon language. Though this should make the message clear." She came closer to me and nudged one of my sleeves that were hanging off of my body with her snout.

My mom's eye's widened and she said, "Hannah?"

I nodded my head and she groaned.

"Did you touch one of Lucy's tails?"

More head nodding.

She sighed and muttered, "I told your grandpa that a Vulpix was too risky. Why couldn't he have gone with an Eevee?"

Lucy snorted and my mom gave her a little glare.

"Can you turn her back, Lucy?"

She nodded and my mom asked, "will you?"

She shook her head and my mom sighed.

"I was afraid of that. Ninetales really are vain about their tails."

I couldn't help but nod along with Lucy when my mom said that. Hey, they are so beautiful that anyone who touched mine without permission deserves to be punished!

My mom walked over to us and said, "I'll call your grandpa and ask him to bring a physic type so we can talk. Until then, maybe you should relax. Or maybe try to have a little fun? Whatever you want to do. Just be careful."

I nodded and she smiled before walking off to call my grandpa.

"So. Maybe you should move around a little," Lucy suggested, "just copy me."

She walked around and I watched her for a moment before trying my han- paw at it. I went slowly and wobbled for the first minute or two. But eventually, I managed to walk without stumbling over my tails or my own legs. It helped my mobility after I got the rags of my unusable pajamas off.

Once I showed a good grasp at walking, Lucy led me outside and I practiced running and just general moving around stuff until it felt like moving around in my human body.

Once Lucy deemed me mobile enough not to look like a drunken Spinda when I tried to move around, we headed back inside to find my mom just as she finished speaking on her phone.

She turned to us and said, "your grandpa said he will bring his Abra when he comes home. He should be home any minute now."

We heard the back door opening and my grandpa rushed in with an Abra sitting on his head and dozing.

"I teleported here as soon as I could!", He said when he got closer.

I burst out laughing at the sight of the Abra on his head and Lucy was reduced to mad giggling at the sight as well. (Seriously. Just imagine it! Grown man running into a room with an Abra sleeping on his head and no warning of this beforehand.)

He stopped with a confused expression and went, "oh!", before he lifted the Abra off of his head and said, "yes yes, very funny."

We got ourselves under control and my grandpa said, "now how about we start talking? Zen here can only use his physic abilities for so long before he's exhausted."

I nodded and felt a faint tickle at the edge of my brain before a young voice said, "just say whatever you want to tell him in your head and he'll hear it."

I was about to give confirmation, but I felt his presence leave to be replaced by a noticeably older mind.

"Grandpa?", I asked tentatively while looking at him.

He nodded and I heard a sort of ghostly form of his voice in my head.

"Yes. Now I'm going to have Zen connect me to Lucy's mind for a minute. Be patient, please. I'm going to try and persuade her to turn you back."

Then his mind receded and I saw Lucy's ear twitch like she heard something. For a little while, we waited while Lucy and my grandpa talked.

After about ten minutes, he sighed and Zen, who had been hovering nearby ever since he was removed from his spot on my grandpa's head, teleported away. He turned to me and said, "sorry, Hannah. It looks like you'll have to just get used to being a Ninetales until Lucy decides that you've learned your lesson for stepping on her tail. But she did promise to turn you back before school starts. So you'll be a Ninetales for about a month and a half, at the max."

I nodded, surprisingly not freaking out at the news. In fact, I felt a sense of excitement when I thought about the fun I could have as a Pokemon. My summer had been pretty boring thus far, and I had no big things planned, so turning into a Pokemon was definitely going to be interesting.

My grandpa smiled at my nonchalant reaction and said, "I'll call a friend and ask him to send over a strong physic type so you can talk whenever you need to. I don't want to put too much strain on Zen. Until then, I suggest you just communicate by pointing and nodding or shaking your head."

I nodded and he walked away while dialing into his phone.

My mom rubbed her head and moaned, "it's going to stink explaining this to your father. He was totally against a Vulpix for a first Pokemon. Not when a Ninetales was a possibility." Lucy growled a little at this announcement and my mom rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to go get some groceries. Please stay safe while I'm gone."

We both nodded and she left the room.

Lucy began walking to the door and I followed behind as she said, "c'mon. I want to show you the forest."

So, for the next few hours. Lucy led me around to different areas around the outside of the Ignacious mansion. We stopped and spoke to several kinds of friendly Pokemon. It was a little odd, talking to Pokemon, but I got over it quickly. We played a quick game of tag against some younger Pokemon and I managed not to be It for most of the time. Lucy showed me her favorite spot to nap and sunbathe. While it was difficult to get to, the spot on the top of the boulder she chose was the perfect spot for letting the maximum amount of Sun reach your fur.

The spot worked so well that Lucy had to poke me awake after the soporific area lulled me to sleep.

After being poked awake, I asked, "how long was I asleep?"

She grinned and said, "long enough for me to set up a time for one of my friends to come and hang out with y- us tomorrow. He was busy today, and said he couldn't. But he'll meet us tomorrow."

I blinked at the announcement and said, "that sounds fun. What kind of Pokemon is he?"

She gave a mischievous smile and said, "you'll find out tomorrow."

She then dropped the subject and we began walking back to the mansion to get some lunch.

When we walked in, my grandpa looked up from a book he was reading on the couch and said, "afternoon, you two. About ready to eat?"

We both nodded and I looked at him and tapped my head and gave him a questioning look.

Both Lucy and him looked at me oddly, but then he got it.

"Oh yeah! The physic type will arrive tomorrow. I'll inform you when it does."

I nodded my thanks and he went back to his book as Lucy led me to the kitchen.

She went to the counter and I saw that there were two bags sitting there as opposed to one.

"What's with the extra bag?", I asked Lucy, heading to the fridge.

"That's for you."

I stopped in my tracks and said, "but that's Pokemon food?"

She nodded slowly and said, "yes. And you are a Pokemon. Some human foods aren't food for your health."

I tried to think of a counter-arguments to her words, by found nothing.

I shrugged (which looked like I was rolling my shoulders), and said, "you have a point."

So, after ripping the bag open enough for me to simply bend my head and eat straight from it, I cautiously picked up a block of the tan food with my teeth and let it fall into my mouth a moment later to try it out.

My face got a surprised expression and, according to Lucy, my stomach rumbled loudly and I attacked the food with a viciousness that resembled a Zangoose attacking a Seviper.

Once we were done eating. We spent the last portion of the day playing with some more Pokemon and Lucy taught me how to specify the curse that someone would suffer if they touched my tails.

I tested it on a Spinda who bumped into my tails as we walked along a path.

My intention was to give the victim a sense of the world bending and twisting around them so they would be unable to walk straight. (It was something that wouldn't hurt anyone unless they happened to fall off a cliff. But there was no chance of that.)

Instead, the moment the stumbling Spinda took on my curse, he began walking perfectly straight and he thanked me graciously before running off to show his friends his ability to walk without wobbling about.

I had to endure Lucy's teasing of how I "cured" the Spinda of his inability to walk straight for a long time. I felt a little bad that the curse would lift after only a little while, but got over it. His species is well known for their inability to walk straight. He would get over it.

THE NEXT DAY

After returning home and getting a good night's rest. We returned to the forest and Lucy began leading me to where her friend said he would be waiting for us.

As we were walking along the path, I asked Lucy, "so what are we going to do? Any idea?"

She shrugged and said, "that'll be up to you two." For whatever reason, she grinned after she said that.

Instead of questioning it, like I probably should have, I just dropped it and followed her along the path.

"We're almost there. Make sure you behave. Don't do anything I wouldn't. And-"

"What's with all the advice," I interrupted her, "is your friend really stingy?"

She grinned harder and said, "nope. Just nervous for his da- play date."

I narrowed my eyes, finally piecing together the clues, and said, "you didn't."

Her grin became bigger and that answered my question.

I hissed, "Lucy! I can't date a Pokemon! It wouldn't work out. And anyways, even if I'm a Pokemon now, it's too weird!"

Lucy rolled her eyes and said, "don't worry about it. We're here!"

I looked to the front of us and noticed that we were at the edge of a small clearing. Sitting on a large rock on the other side of the clearing was a Mightyena who looked up as we walked into the area.

Lucy pushed me forwards and said, "have fun, kids!" And, before I could protest, bolted off back into the forest faster than I could follow.

I turned into the forest and yelled, "Lucy!"

When it was obvious that she wasn't coming back, I let out an annoyed huff before turning back around and yelping in surprise when I found the Mightyena sitting quietly right behind me.

He jumped a little and said, "sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Despite his somewhat scary appearance and mouth full of sharp teeth, he just seemed like a normal Pokemon. Nothing like what some people say about dark types.

I calmed down and said, "it's alright. I just didn't hear you walk over."

He grinned proudly and said, "one of the perks of being a dark type. My name's Tom."

"Hannah. Nice to meet you," I said with a pleasant smile.

We sat there silently for a moment, and in that awkward silence, I could tell that he was extremely nervous. On close inspection, I noticed that a lot of his fur had a glossy look to it. Like it had been smoothed down with a tongue very recently. He seemed sort of panicked and twitchy, like he didn't know how to respond or what to do.

I could tell he was suffering from FDS, otherwise known as First Date Syndrome. My friends told me all about it, the ones who were already dating at the time, so that's how I knew what it was.

"Why don't you show me around?", I suggested and he leapt on it eagerly.

"Sure," he stood up and said, "there's an awesome place where the fruit falls right off the tree when you hit it. Want to go there?"

I nodded and he turned to a little path and we began walking along it.

"So," I started to break the silence, "aren't Mightyena usually a part of a pack?"

"Yeah. But today everyone is kind of doing their own thing. The alpha is off with one of his mates today and no one is allowed to interrupt them."

"He has multiple mates?", I asked in surprise.

He nodded, seeming a little more comfortable than before with a topic he knew well.

"Yes. The alpha is allowed as many as he wants. Anyone else who is a part of the pack is allowed only one mate at a time. To get two or more is a sign that one wishes to fight for control of the pack. But that happens very rarely. The leader we have now is strong and smart. He's led us ever since I was a pup."

When he fell quiet from his explanation, I asked, "so, have you had one before? A mate, I mean."

He looked away when I asked that question and said, "um, no. I only evolved just recently. When did you evolve?"

Wow. Hit me with a tricky question.

"I was born as a Ninetales," I said. It didn't happen too often, but some Pokemon are born as their evolved states, so he didn't question my story.

"So how old are you?", He asked.

I grinned and said, "don't you know? It's impolite to ask a female her age."

I had the distinct feeling he was blushing under his fur and he looked down with his ears drooping.

"Er, sorry. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what to do in these situations. Have you had a mate before?"

Now it was my turn to blush and look away. I decided it was about time to fess up.

"I haven't. Partly because I'm fourteen. Also, I don't know if Lucy mentioned this, but I'm actually a human who was turned into a Pokemon."

It took me a few steps to realize that Tom had stopped walking beside me.

"Tom?", I asked when I saw his surprised expression and he snapped out of it.

"Er, sorry. I just wasn't expecting that. Did I hear you right?"

I nodded and spent the next fifteen minutes explaining how Lucy had transformed me with her tail and how she had set the date up without me knowing.

* * *

PRESENT TIME

JACOB'S POV

I waited a few more seconds, expecting some more to the story. But my mom simply shrugged and said, "after that. We just became friends and talked for awhile before Lucy showed back up and said it was about time to get home. Lucy waited until about a week before school started to turn me back into a human. And until I started dating your father, I spent most of my breaks from school as a Ninetales. I had to stop when I started dating because my parents made me promise not to tell anyone."

I snorted and said, "well that must- umm. What's up with your tail?" I noticed that my mom's tail, which had been behind her the whole time, moved out from behind her. It wasn't a Lucario tail, that was certain. Lucario tails weren't a blonde color.

She glanced at it and said, "oh yeah. Look," she moved her tail around and we saw that it was exactly like one of Lucy's.

"You have a Ninetales' tail!", I yelled in disbelief.

* * *

Hello readers! Hope you liked the little twist in this chapter. You can thank tomhur18 for the flashback in Hannah's POV. He's the one who thought most of it up. Big thanks to him!

And Raven Cross (guest). Not to call you out or anything, but I really wish you would get a profile on here. While I like the reviews you leave and everything, I don't mind giving updates on the current word count of the chapter I'm working on if you PM me. (That goes for everyone. I don't mind saying how far along I am on the next chapter. Just PM me.)

Anyways. Please review and feel free to give suggestions. Always happy to oblige if I can. You would be surprised how often a simple suggestion or OC can change an entire plot line. *cough cough Shade Mutatin cough*

One last thing, Return of the Cursed Gift has broken the 100 review mark! A milestone passed :D.

Until the next chapter, peace! :)


	11. Hanging out, or Hunted?

Return of the Cursed Gift chap 11

Alright, here's the chapter. So sorry for taking forever with it. Holidays kept me busy and so did my other stories. I promise to not take forever with the next chapter. It's a little shorter than usual, but still a respectable length, I think. And now, enjoy.

Chapter 11

Hanging out or hunted?

JACOB'S POV

* * *

"Yeah, I probably got this tail due to having a little Ninetales DNA left in my body," my mom answers me while I gaped at the tan appendage.

I snapped out it when Lucy snorted and said, "okay. I can understand the tail. But why did you transform? Pip's barrier should have prevented that."

My mom shrugged nonchalantly before turning to Andrea. I made a note to question Pip the next time I saw her.

"So why do you have blonde fur now? Was Pip unable to turn you back human?"

We told her how we tried to turn her back, but that something inside me had lashed out and stopped the attempt.

"So, as a result. Andrea now has blonde fur instead of blue, and is still a Lucario," I finished the explanation and my mom accepted it with a nod.

There was a moment of silence before the doorbell rang and broke it.

"I'll get it," I said as I stood up.

I opened the door carefully and saw that it was Alex.

"Hey," I said as I opened the door and stepped out of the way to let him through.

"Did it work?", he immediately asked.

I frowned and shook my head, gesturing towards the living room.

"See for yourself."

He walked into the living room and his eyes widened.

"Um, hello?"

"Hey, Alex," my mom greeted him and his eyes widened further.

"Um, Jacob. Is that your mom? And why is Andrea yellow now?"

"I'm blonde!", Andrea protested loudly and I said, "it's a long story. Yes, that's my mom. Any reason you came over?"

"Uh, yeah. I came to ask whether it had worked or not. Also, I came to invite you two to come hang out in town. But I don't know if you want to now," he looked pointedly at my mom and she waved her paw.

"No, you really should go hang out some. Just make sure to give me updates every so often. And be careful."

"What will you be doing?", Andrea asked her.

"Oh, I'll probably be talking with Lucy for the most part. I haven't had an actual conversation with her in a long time. Don't worry about me, just have some fun."

So, after giving my mom a kiss, we got in Alex's truck and he started driving into town.

We debated on where to go for a short while until we agreed on a diner that we had all liked.

After Alex parked his truck, he said, "oh, and I brought these along," he pulled out two pokeballs and attached them to his belt.

"So people think that you're my Pokemon and won't try to capture you," he explained.

We nodded and got out.

I noticed a few people begin to stare as we got out of his truck and I hoped it wouldn't bother Andrea too much.

We went into the diner and, thank Arceus, it was mostly empty. We grabbed an unused booth and started looking at the menus that were laying there.

A waitress came over to us and we placed our orders. Thankfully, she kept herself professional and didn't even bat an eyelash at hearing two Pokemon respond to her via English.

As we talked about different stuff, I caught more than one person sneaking a picture of us. Or more specifically, Andrea. Gold furred Lucario were not unheard of, but they were beyond rare. I didn't blame them for taking pictures of her, but I didn't like it.

* * *

ANDREA'S POV

It was nerve wrecking, going out in public like that! I was still feeling a little self conscious about not wearing clothing, though I was getting better about that. And so many people were staring! I realized that my fur was a different color and everything, but seriously! No excuse to take pictures!

If Jacob wasn't there, I probably would have jumped back right into Alex's truck and demanded him to drive me to my house as I curled up out of view. As it was, I managed to stay calm as we relaxed and talked about random stuff. Mostly about how school was supposed to be starting up in a week's time.

We gave our order, Jacob had to remind me to look at the Pokemon side when we got the menus, and managed to hang out. Despite people rudely staring and taking pictures, I was having a great time.

We got our food, and I managed to enjoy it after getting over the fact that it was Pokemon food. Jacob excused himself to go to the bathroom a little after that.

Me and Alex continued the conversation we were having at the time without him, and only noticed the guy standing at our table when he coughed to catch our attention.

He was looking at me when we turned, but his eyes quickly switched to Alex.

"She's not for sale, if that's what you want," Alex said and he got an approving nod from me.

The guy frowned but said, "alright, but would you settle for having her "hook up" with my Ditto? That fur coloring is extremely rare and I'm willing to pay a considerable-"

I heard no more as my brain short circuited. This man was wanting me to do... _what_!? For **WHAT!?**

"I said No," Alex raised his voice, "now please leave us in peace."

The man opened his mouth, but closed it when someone tapped him on the shoulder and he turned, only to come face to face with Jacob.

Jacob didn't say anything. He just stared into the man's eyes, unblinking. But, as I watched, the man's expression changed from annoyed arrogance, to slight fear, then I saw him begin to shake slightly. Sweat appeared, despite it being rather cool in the diner.

"Alright! Just stop!", the man whimpered. Whatever Jacob had said to him, it had sucked the rude arrogance out of him.

Finally, Jacob leaned back and began blinking again. Immediately, the man moved away from Jacob, and began running away once he got outside.

Jacob turned to the rest of the restaurant and sent out, via aura, "please return to your eating. Nothing to see here," and took his spot next to me.

Once sound started to return to the place, Alex leaned forward and asked, "what did you tell that guy?"

Jacob looked at Alex, then to me, and said, "I only showed what would happen to him if he tried to mess with you any more." He then tossed a fry in his mouth, and the spell of seriousness was broken. I could tell that Alex wanted to ask, but neither of ever actually asked him the specifics of what he showed the guy.

No one bothered us again while we were there. When we finished, and paid, we left and headed to the city's only mall. Jacob and Alex dragged me to a videogame store, where we spent almost half an hour where Alex got into an argument with a fellow nerd about some game. Jacob broke them apart by mentioning something else from the game, I think. And the argument ended when the other guy fist-bumped Alex and left. (He didn't even glance very long at my fur coloring or at the fact that a Lucario was discussing videogames.)

"You two done with all the nerding around?", I asked them once the guy left.

They turned to me and said in union, "nerding?"

I snorted at their faces and they both looked away in embarrassment.

"Relax, I'll just be over there," I pointed at an empty area of the store and Jacob nodded before responding to Alex's insistent, "This has the expansion pack! Just look at-", I stopped listening at that point and went to where I indicated.

We spent another twenty minutes or so there before we moved on. This time, I drug them to one of my favorite clothing stores. As we walked in, Jacob leaned over to mean and whispered, "umm, why are we here?"

I whispered back with, "cause I like looking at the clothes. Even if I can't buy them. Or wear them, for the moment."

Jacob rolled his eyes dramatically, but didn't comment as I pulled them over to check out a cute shirt I saw.

I looked, after awhile of just browsing, up when I heard Jacob laughing and couldn't resist laughing when I saw what was on Alex's head. You know those things that you wear on your head and it gives you Lopunny ears (or any kind of ears really)? Well, Alex wore one, and was sporting Lucario ears.

He rolled his eyes at our reactions and said, "at least these are easier to take off than the last pair."

I snorted and agreed with him on that. He put the ears back where Jacob had found them and we left the store. We meandered about for a little while, going in and out of stores and generally just hanging out. It was a lot of fun.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

We left a small antique store when it finally happened. A guy, roughly fifteen looking, came up to Alex and asked, "excuse me, but do you have time for a battle?"

Alex, prepared to say no to, yet another offer to buy Andrea, hesitated when the guy mentioned a battle.

I stepped in and said, "sorry but we're hanging out right now. Maybe another time."

As I began to move past him, he said, "wait! I just wanted to train my Lucario, who just evolved, against another Lucario. So that he might learn a little."

When I heard this, I paused and turned back to him.

"Okay. I'll battle against your Lucario. Where do you have in mind for us to battle?"

"Jacob! I thought we were here to relax," Andrea protested and I said, "it won't take very long. And anyways, maybe you could watch a little. Wouldn't it be cool if you could use one or two moves?"

Andrea considered this, then nodded.

"Fine."

I nodded and turned to the guy.

"There's an area that you can rent right behind the mall. I'll go and rent it out for a little while and meet you back there?"

"Sure," I nodded.

As the guy walked away, Alex asked, "uh, I have literally no battle experience. Are-"

"Don't worry," I waved his words away, "you don't have to say anything. Just stand in the square and I'll tell them that I'll teach him how to react as though he's not being given commands. Or something like that."

"Your ability to sound smart then to completely kill it is astounding," Andrea said dryly and Alex snorted.

I just ignored them and started heading towards the back of the mall. They followed close behind, snickering slightly.

We arrived at the back of the mall to find four designated battling areas. Two were in use, while one had the guy already standing there, waving at us.

"How did he beat us here?" Alex asked. I was also curious about that, but didn't bother to question it.

We got closer and he said, "oh, my name is Brandon. Forgot to tell you earlier. Are you ready?", He asked as he pulled out a pokeball and got in the square on one side of the field.

I got close to the square and sent out, via aura, "I'm ready. And Alex is just going to let me do my own thing. It'll be easier to teach your Lucario that way."

Brandon blinked, but accepted it with a nod before throwing the pokeball in the air and shouting, "let's go, Lucario!"

Lucario came out of the pokeball in a ready stance and I sent to him, "I'm ready when you are."

The Lucario got a surprised look when he saw me, but then grinned and nodded back at Brandon.

"Alright. Let's start this off with an aura sphere!"

I tensed, ready to jump out of the way, as the Lucario put his paws together to form an aura sphere between them. I waited for a few moments as the Pokemon seemed to strain more and more, with no results.

"Er, I'm guessing you haven't had anybody teach you how to do aura sphere," I said and the Lucario finally gave up on his attempt to instead nod to my words.

"Lets have a time-out for a minute. I'll try to teach you how," I said and walked closer to him. He blinked at me, then spoke, not through aura but with his own vocal cords, "um, thanks, but aren't we supposed to be battling?"

I waved my paw in a dismissive gesture.

"The reason we're battling in the first place is because your trainer wants you to learn some. I was taught how to use aura sphere pretty recently, and my dad always tells me to pass on whatever knowledge that you can when someone needs it. Now, pay attention."

For the next fifteen minutes, I used my dad's knowledge in my head along with what Narri had taught me to teach the Lucario how to create and launch an aura sphere. Alex and Andrea stood off to the side, talking with Brandon as I taught him.

"Alright," I said after he had successfully shot off a few aura spheres, "let's give it your best shot."

I tapped my own chest and used bone rush, "shoot it right at me."

Lucario nodded and put his paws together. After a few moments, the ball formed in between his paws and he threw his arms forward in a launching motion.

I readied my bone rush to deflect the attack, and promptly relaxed when the sphere only flew about half the way to where I was before losing momentum and falling to the ground.

Everyone stood silently for a moment before a ringtone went off from Alex's pocket and he pulled it out awkwardly before mumbling a, "sorry", and answering it.

I turned back to Lucario and began showing him how to launch the attack properly so it would fly straight.

"Hey Jacob," Alex called to me from the side of the field.

"Yeah? Something up?"

"It's your mom. She said that she wants us to come home soon. She seemed kind of stressed."

I frowned and nodded.

"Okay. Just a minute." I then turned to Lucario and said, "so just keep practicing like that and you should get it soon enough. Hopefully we can battle sometime soon."

Lucario nodded and waved goodbye to us as we began to walk quickly around the side of the mall to get to the front parking lot.

There was a building right beside that side of the mall, so we had to go through an alley to get to the front.

I felt the surge of ill intent only moments before a voice rang out with, "Ariados! Poison sting!"

We looked up at the same time a rain of nettles bore down from above.

Acting quickly, I used the same method that I used to dry off my fur to throw the barrage off target and stick into the walls of the alley. While this wasn't the most perfect method for deflecting the nettles, the few that managed to get through buried themselves in the ground as opposed to us.

Once the nettles stopped, I saw a woman on the top of the malls roof and an Ariados sticking to the top of the wall we stood next to.

"Who-", Alex began to shout angrily, but I said, "she's a poacher. You two go get help, I'll hold her off." I recognized the type of clothing she wore. My dad had engrained it into me to keep an eye out for the kinds of clothing poachers tended to wear. It was also her aura. Even without trying to actively get a read off of her, I could feel the greed bubbling below the surface. She practically _oozed_ the sensation.

The woman on the building grinned and said in sickly sweet tone, "aww. Is the big bad Lucario going to fight for his lady love?"

My eye twitched at her mocking tone and I shouted up to her, "what do you want?"

She smirked. "Why I want what you have. Your pretty girlfriend is worth a lot to the right person. Though I think they prefer the pelt more than the Pokemon so-"

"Did you just threaten her life?", I asked, an icy rage beginning in my center. I had only ever gotten that kind of rage once, when a drunk man tried hitting on my mom when we were in a parking lot and my dad was not with us. He actually grabbed her arm and jerked her towards him. If the police officer had not intervened a moment later, I would have most likely reduced the man into an unconscious and bloody heap.

It was the kind of anger that makes you feel empty at first, but that void is soon replaced by the cold calculating side that almost everyone posses, but very few actually use.

She leaned over the side a little more and said, "did you not hear me right? Let me clarify. Use string shot!"

The Ariados shot out its web and it hit the two pokeballs located on Alex's belt before any of us could react. In an instant, the Ariados pulled the pokeballs up to itself and scuttled up to the woman, who took them.

"Why thank you, dear. You two, return," she pointed them at Andrea and me. After a few seconds of nothing happening, I whispered, "Alex. Andrea. I want you two to run and get help. I'll keep her occupied."

"Why are these not working!? Forget it. I'll take their real pokeballs off of you when you're unconscious. Poison sting!"

"Run!" I grabbed a trash can lid and blocked the more focused beam of nettles with the metal.

Alex grabbed Andrea's paw and started running.

"No stupid! Aim at the gold Lucario!"

The spider Pokemon stopped its attack and I used the opportunity to fire off an aura sphere.

It jumped to the other building and the attack blew a small crater in the side of the building. I winced at the damage caused and backed up a step to get out of the path of the debris that came my way.

"Ugh! Fine! Aim at the pest in front of you. Use psychic!"

Before I could react, I glow surrounded me and I was lifted into the air a few yards before being slammed right into the wall of the mall. The attack took hold of me again and began lifting me closer to the bug type.

"Good. Now use poison sting!"

From only a few yard away and held rigid by the attack, I had no chance to prevent the flood of nettles from embedding themselves right in my chest.

I clenched my jaw to prevent myself from screaming in pain and hardly noticed it when I hit the ground after I was released from the psychic.

"Now, fury swipes!"

The bug type jumped off from the wall and I closed my eyes only a moment before the Pokemon landed on me.

After a moment of nothing painful happening, I opened one eye to find myself surrounded in blue.

I opened my other eye and reached forward to poke the blue. It was as hard as rock. It was then that I recognized what it was.

The aura stone. It had somehow morphed into a dome and protected me from the attack. The dome's diameter just barely exceeded my height and the top point of the dome was almost a yard away from my face. The inside was completely smooth and I saw no obvious imperfections.

I heard something clicking and saw the shadow of the spider Pokemon standing on top of the dome.

The woman's voice came through the rock, severely muffled but understandable, "try to break through it. Fury swipes!"

I saw the shadow rear up and the dome shook slightly as the attack bombarded it.

I tried to think of something I could do, but a burning sensation in my chest made itself known. I looked down at the fur around my spike and saw that is was perforated from the nettles. The nettles themselves had fallen out and disappeared. The damage they caused, however, remained. Each hole caused a little bit of blood to ooze, but that wasn't the main issue.

The poison in my system was the real cause for worry. It had only been a minute, and the burn had already spread to my entire torso. If I didn't do something about it, and soon, then I would be knocked unconscious and at the mercy of the poacher. I wasn't sure how much the aura stone could do and didn't want to test it out just then.

I laid there, attempting to come up with a plan while ignoring the pain coursing through my body. I heard some shouts and the dome stopped shaking as the shadow retreated.

"Jacob!" A feminine voice called out and another shadow, this one of a Lucario, ran up to the dome.

"Hey Andrea," I called out.

"Are you alright? We brought help."

My throat was beginning to burn and I only just kept my voice steady as I said, "I've been poisoned. Please try to get an Antidote while I figure out how to get out of here."

"Oh! Okay, yeah." She sounded slightly panicked, but she moved away to hopefully do what I asked.

When I was sure she was gone, I said, "uh, thanks. For your help. But I need to get out now and get this poison out of my system."

I'm not sure which relieved me more. The stone's silence, or that no one was there listening to me talk to a rock.

I determined that the stone wasn't going to communicate, so I tried reaching out and touching the rock. Unlike when the Ariados hit it, I felt the stone give under my touch, much like putty does when poked.

When I removed my finger, the indentation remained. The only feature in the dome.

I tried poking the wall again and felt something brush against my mind. It seemed to wait for something. Without conscious intent, I "asked" the stone to let me out. Before I could process that I had connected with whatever was in the stone, the dome retracted in only a moment and the stone reformed as its usual shape in my paw.

"Hurry!" I looked up to see Andrea rushing some man in a doctors uniform down the alley.

By that point, the poison had traveled over my entire body and everything was becoming more and more painful to process.

The abyss was quick to take me after that.

* * *

"-cleared out of his system by tomorrow morning."

I opened my eyes and saw a doctor standing with his back to me. I looked around to see that I was laying on a bed in a hospital room.

It hurt to open my mouth, so I said using aura, "I'm awake."

The guy jumped before turning to me and seeing my open eyes.

"Sorry for the scare, "I apologized, "It just hurts to open my mouth."

He relaxed.

"It's alright. How are you feeling?"

I took a moment to find the right way to put how my body felt.

"Like I don't want to get poisoned again anytime soon. Where am I?"

Andrea moved forward from behind the doctor.

"The hospital. The guy who helped you back at the mall had an Antidote with him, but he insisted that you at least get checked up at the hospital. So..."

I saw the hesitation in her eyes and said, "what? What happened?"

Alex walked in holding a pokeball.

"I put you in a pokeball to keep you stable while we went to the hospital. I'll release you right-"

"Stop. My dad asked me to get captured by a pokeball. I really didn't want to, but don't release me from it. At least I'll be protected from getting caught by other trainers now."

Alex nodded and put the pokeball in his pocket.

I looked back at the doctor and said, "so how long until I can leave?"

He looked at the clipboard he held and said, "sometime in around a hour, if you promise to be taken home in your pokeball and go straight to bed. Tomorrow morning if you refuse to go in your pokeball. You're in no condition to be moving around."

I looked away from them and considered it for a moment. I noticed that it was getting dark outside through a window. I had never spent the night in a hospital, and didn't want to start then.

"I'll go in the pokeball. Have you told my mom yet?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded, "it took awhile for me to not come visit you. Because, well, you know."

His eyes flicked to the doctor and I nodded and changed the subject.

"Do you know what happened to the aura stone?" I hadn't seen it in my cursory glance around the room.

Andrea grinned and Alex snorted with a barely restrained laugh.

I just looked at them and the doctor said, "every time we tried to take it off of you, it would move itself. It somehow stayed connected to your body no matter what. They said it wouldn't hurt you, so I let it be. It's currently on the top of your head."

I blinked and leaned my head to the right. Sure enough, the odd weight that I had thought was the effect of a headache moved and fell onto the bed next to me.

I resisted the urge to laugh, as it would have hurt, and instead said, "Alex, hold this for me, please. It should let you pick it up now."

Alex walked over to the bed and grabbed the stone before carefully putting it in his pocket.

The doctor cleared his throat before asking Andrea and Alex to leave so he could check my condition. They left the room and the doctor did a few things with some machine and asked some questions. After roughly half an hour, he finished and let Alex and Andrea back in.

"He's all set. Just keep him in bed for the rest of the night and make sure he doesn't over exert himself for the next few days. He'll be back to normal in two days, tops."

"Trust me," I said, "I'll be moving as little as possible while feeling like this."

The doctor gave me a small smile before moving to the side and waving for Alex to proceed.

Alex got the pokeball out of his pocket and held it out towards me.

"Um. Return?"

The red light shot out from it and touched my body. Instantly, everything went black and I felt extraordinarily comfortable. It felt so much like sleeping in a warm bed. I could hear some things outside of the blackness, but it was very muffled and I could only understand what I heard when I focused.

After what seemed like only a few minutes, the world brightened around me and I felt the aches from the poison's after effects return.

I opened my eyes to find myself laying in my bed.

"Jacob?" My mom leaned over me with a concerned look, the pokeball I was just released from laid on the nightstand next to my bed.

"The doctor said I just need to relax for the next few days."

Lucy hopped up on my bed and poked my leg, which caused me to wince. Everything felt tender.

"Hehe. Getting poisoned really sucks, doesn't it?"

"Mooooom," I managed to put a whiny tone into my mental voice, "Lucy is being cruel."

She waved for Lucy to back off before turning to me with a severe expression that caught me off guard.

"And what is this about your father asking you to be put in a pokeball and you not mentioning it to me?"

Her hands were on her hips and Lucy was grinning in the background. My mom was pissed.

"Umm," I said, trying to come up with something but came up blank.

But, like an angel, Andrea came in and my mom's "You Have Some Explaining to Do"™ posture vanished.

"Hey Andrea," I said quickly, thanking Arceus for her timely intervention.

She smiled and walked over to me. She then proceeded to give me a punch on the arm that made me tense up from the impact.

"That is for nearly getting killed! Don't you dare do something like that again!"

My mom chuckled and started walking towards my door, "I think she can take care of the berating. I'll make some soup for supper and bring it up to you."

Lucy followed her out the door and closed it most of the ways behind herself.

Andrea turned to me again and said, "and This," she leaned in quickly and I flinched, preparing for more of her show of love (abuse!). She gave me a peck on my cheek and stood up, "is for protecting us from that poacher."

I blinked and I felt a large blush appear on my cheeks, thankfully hidden from view by my fur.

"Er, you're welcome?", I managed to say after a moment.

She frowned and rolled her eyes, confusing me a lot.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm going to help your mom cook. You just relax."

I didn't know how to respond, so I gave a quiet, "okay," which elicited another unexplained eye-roll before she left the room.

I really couldn't do anything, since any movement caused my still tender body to complain. So, I just closed my eyes and forced myself to sleep.

The familiar sound of someone climbing the stairs woke me up and I turned my head to the door just as Andrea came in, holding a tray with a bowl and a cup on it.

I moved to sit up and couldn't completely restrain the grimace from the pain.

"Hey. Feeling any better?" Andrea sets the tray on the bed next to me.

"A little bit," I lied through my metaphorical mental teeth.

Andrea gave me a look that told me, "not buying that."

To prove my words, I picked up the tray and set it on my lap. It took an extreme effort to do this, as my muscles still did not want to respond to my commands. It felt a lot like that time my arm got paralyzed, but it was a constant instead of appearing randomly. To someone who's never been hit with a powerful electrical attack, it felt like the sensation you have the day after you do an extreme workout. Everything aches and sometimes your body just doesn't feel like cooperating.

I grabbed the fork and moved to poke one of the small chunks of meat. As I tried to, my paw twitched without my consent and my fumbled attempts to catch it catapulted it to the other side of my bed.

I looked at Andrea with a mareepish glance and she leaned past me to grab the fallen utensil.

I held out my open paw for it, but Andrea instead grabbed the whole tray off my lap and sat on my bed with it on hers.

"What-"

"Open up," she ordered and I complied without thinking. She stuck one of the noodles into my mouth and I chewed as I said, "um. Sorry."

"Oh be quiet. You're my boyfriend. Couples do this all the time in restaurants. Here," she stuck another noodle in with a piece of meat and I chewed obediently.

We kept on going like this until both the bowl and the cup was drained. I managed to drink without spilling any, thankfully.

All throughout it, I felt my face burning from mild embarrassment. It was one thing to let her feed me, it was another to be unable to feed myself without help. A guy has to have some pride.

When it was empty, I said, "thanks," but didn't meet her eyes.

She set the tray on the floor and slapped me softly in the side with her tail.

I turned to her, and she gave me a kiss. It was short. But it was on the lips. And it was not a little peck. I was frozen, in both body and mind from the momentary contact.

She probably started grinning due to my stunned expression and grabbed the tray while saying, "you get some sleep."

"Okay," I said without thinking, still a little brain-locked.

"Okay," she said before giving me one last smile and closing the door behind her.

Despite her words, I did not sleep much that night. My thoughts were too filled with trying to remember every detail about the kiss.

My thoughts turned to my dad and I wonder idly how he would react if told him about our kiss.

Like on cue, I heard, "niiice," and the strangest impression of my dad grinning and giving a thumbs up.

I groaned and asked the voice in my head, "please tell me that whatever you see or hear while in my head won't transfer back to my real dad when he eventually takes you out?"

The chuckle that resulted from my question killed any hope of avoiding my dad's teasing.

"Guess it falls to me to tease you then," the voice said.

"Daaaad!"

"Sooooon!"

My dad's voice killed the euphoria I was feeling and I soon went to sleep, praying that tomorrow would be much calmer than the day I just finished.

* * *

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here's my late Christmas gift to you all. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please leave a review giving me your thoughts on it.

Suggestions are also very welcome. Always love getting them and will respond no matter what (if it is possible. I can't with guest reviewers, unfortunately).

Also, Return of the Cursed Gift now has 116 reviews! It hit the 100 milestone and its probably only halfway done. (I plan for this to be somewhere around 20 chapters. But I'm flexible, so that'll probably change.)

Enough of my ranting. R&amp;R please. (It would be awesome if this made it to 200 reviews before it finished!)

And a metaphorical cookie to those who noticed the TFIOS reference :D.


	12. Reine du Scéne

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 12

Here's the next chapter! I've been busy with Sooooo much stuff that I've had hardly any time to actually write. One of those items was being invited to be a Delegate at Boys State in Tallahassee this year. For those of you who do not know what that is, just know that, for a guy from nowhere getting to attend, this is a major honor. Well, that's what has been happening recently in my life. Enough of that, please enjoy :). (Ps, TROTCG just hit 6000 views :D).

(Also, for any of you who are not familiar with French, the title loosely translated to "Queen of the Scene". It's weird, but you'll understand later. Please thank RevenantOmega for the translation.)

Disclaimer: I have a secret to tell. *looks around for a few moments and whispers* I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 12

Reine du Scéne

JACOB'S POV

I threw up my arm to block the soft projectile I felt heading my way and grumbled, "Lucy, Isn't it too early to start this?" I wondered if she practiced throwing stuff with her tails when no one was looking. She was usually spot on. I had many bruises to attest to that.

Her giggling elicited a sigh from me and I threw the pillow back at her.

"Your girlfriend's in the shower," her suggesting tone made me open one eye for the express purpose of glaring at her.

"Maybe she would like a good morning smooch-"

Lucy retreated as I picked up a squirt bottle that I had hid on the other side of my bed and took aim. (I had bought it when I learned of her dislike of rain.) While she didn't mind the rest of her fur getting wet, she hated it when her tails got wet. And she knew I would aim for them. But, I only used it when she was in my room. The rest of the house was off limits.

Once I heard her walking downstairs, I set the bottle down and sat up slowly. The pain had reduced to a dull ache that showed itself only when I moved my arms and legs. I wasn't tender enough that a touch would cause pain. That was a blessing.

I listened for a moment and heard the sound of the shower running down the hall. An image rose up unbidden in my head and I gave myself a hard pinch to banish it.

Though it confused me how the thought of Andrea in the shower would make me feel that way. I saw her naked literally all the time now sense she had finally stopped wearing clothes.

Maybe it was the way the fur would lay down on her form. Revealing all the curves-

I escalated the pinch to a slap to my face. No. Bad brain. Stop that.

After stretching a little to get the stiffness out of my body, I stood and walked out of my room. At the same moment, Andrea walked out of the bathroom, fur still a little damp.

"Morning," I caught her attention and she turned to me.

"Oh. Did I wake you up?"

While the mental image of her had certainly woke me up...

"Nah. I woke up a minute ago. Do you know where Alex put the Aura Stone?"

She grinned and I felt the top of my head on reflex. There was nothing.

"Alex tried to give it to me, but it kept doing what it did when the doctors tried to get it. He said that he'll bring it over sometime today."

I nodded and paused when I heard the sound of movement from the kitchen.

"Sounds like my mom's making breakfast. I'll get a shower and be down in a little bit."

Andrea nodded and I moved to the bathroom to clean up.

Once I bathed, and spent a good while drying off my fur using the more mundane method of towels-I didn't know what using aura could do to my recovering body, but I didn't want to risk it- and I headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Just as I started to enter the room, the doorbell rang and I said, "I'll get it."

I unlocked the door and opened it slowly.

"Hey Jacob, that you?"

I recognized the voice and the tall figure in an instant and threw the door open with a happy, "Uncle Shade!"

"I'm not your Uncle," he grumbled good naturedly, "mind if I come in?"

I moved aside and he walked in. He was dressed in his usual worn jeans, a red tee shirt with a big jacket over it, and flyer goggles resting on the top of his head. His black hair looked windblown, despite it being pretty short.

I closed the door and asked, "any news?"

His usual playful expression turned more serious and he said, "where's your mom at? We should probably discuss it while she's around."

"In the kitchen. Come on."

I led him into the room, where Andrea and her had already started eating, and my mom hopped up to give Shade a hug. Shade might as well be family, so that's how we treated him. He didn't even bat an eye at my mom in her Lucario state, so she must have told the WPO that she had been transformed at some point.

"This is Andrea," I introduced her and she shook his hand, "Andrea, this is my Uncle Shade. Though he's not really my Uncle, that's what I've always called him and it stuck. He works for the WPO."

"Nice to meet you. I assume you're the one Jacob accidentally transformed while on his date?"

I blanched a little when he said that and he laughed.

"Don't worry. It's not the worst thing that's happened to someone on a date before. Once, when we just started dating, Sierra's ear managed to break a table in half on one of our less successful dates."

"Her _ear_?", Andrea asked with a surprised expression.

Shade grinned and nodded as he obviously remembered the certainly memorable date.

Andrea looked at me and I said, "you know the guy, in the movie, who had wings and became friends with my dad?"

"The one who was a part of the bad guys but became good? The part Pokemon guy?"

"Yeah, that one."

"What about- wait," she looked at Shade and the back of his jacket pushed out slightly and her eyes widened as the dots finally connected.

"And my Aunt Sierra has Lopunny DNA in her. She has the ears of a Lopunny. That's how she broke the table."

Andrea processed this with a blink before asking, "and you actually have-", she gestured at her back.

To answer, he took off the jacket and extended his wings a little ways in both directions. He also relaxed his control and the scales appeared all over his face and uncovered arms. His hands morphed into bone-like claws and his eyes changed color. To someone who's never seen it, it was pretty impressive. To me, the novelty had worn off. Shade just enjoyed the looks of people who's never seen it before and the grin on his face was proof of that.

I rolled my eyes at her wide-eyed expression and his grin and said, "with that out of the way, what is it that you wanted to let us know?"

He made his wings lay against his back again and put the jacket back on before sitting at the table. He also focused and his features returned to his human-like ones. (Though his wings stayed. They never changed even when everything else went away.) We all sat and waited in tense silence until he finished.

He sighed and said, "we've made some headway. But we haven't found anything concrete. The WPO, to prevent widespread panic, has decided to try and keep this off the radar. It has been confirmed that this Team Phoenix is not Team Styx trying to exact revenge. Our intelligence is telling us that this new Team has some old Team Styx members, but we've been unable to confirm it."

"Any luck in the tracking division?", I asked. Uncle Shade had told me a lot about how the WPO worked and I knew more than most about how the WPO operated.

He shook his head.

"Wherever he is, it's blocking out all attempts that our psychic division is throwing at it."

I opened my mouth and he said, "and yes. I made them do it multiple times. Nothing."

I shook my head and said, "no, I wanted to say that Narri showed me a way that we can track my dad," I held up my paws at my mom when she turned to me with a furious glare, "I was distracted! It's not every day that your mom turns into a Lucario."

She huffed and motioned for me to continue.

"Just watch." I held up my paw and did everything that Narri had told me to do. Moments later, a misty ball of red appeared.

I frowned and said, "it's used for tracking family members. Usually, it's blue and has a red dot in the direction that your family is in. But since my mom is right here, it's completely red."

I released my control over it and said, "I can't fly or teleport if I want to use this ability. If I do, then I won't be able to use it. I would have to travel by land or sea. That's what Narri said. Something about it disconnecting you from the planet's natural aura. The ability basically reads the planet's aura in order to work."

Shade leaned forward with a thoughtful expression and said, "the WPO doesn't like minors helping with cases like this," I started to protest, but he held up his hand and said, "but I'll try to force the issue. They'll want to find your dad as soon as possible with the threat that Team Phoenix poses."

I nodded and leaned back, satisfied that I probably would be able to help.

"So has anything new happened recently that we need to know?", Shade asked after leaning back.

I snorted and said, "well yesterday we were attacked by a poacher. I got poisoned and am currently recovering from the effects."

Shade winced in sympathy. He worked for a field unit that often had to deal with unsavory characters. He never told me, but I wouldn't have been surprised if he had been poisoned once or twice. His scales did a good job at protecting his skin, but they could only block so much.

"And what happened to the poacher?"

I looked to Andrea and she said, "she ran away when she saw that guy who gave you an Antidote running right behind me along with a few other people. The police arrived a few minutes later and they started chasing her. I don't know if they ever caught her."

Shade nodded with a frown and stood.

"I want you two to be more careful from now on. Please do not go anywhere without at least two of your friends along with you. Preferably friends who have Pokemon partners."

Once he got our confirmations, he then said, "oh, and good luck with school. It should be starting up in about a week for you, right?"

I'm pretty sure that the three Lucario in the room all had the same thought of, "oh," at the same time.

I thought for a moment and remembered that that day was Thursday. School started up again on Monday.

"Er, right," I said.

Shade chuckled.

"You forgot, didn't you?"

It had slipped my mind, despite the fact we had been talking about it just yesterday in the diner. Give me a break. Getting poisoned is pretty distracting.

Shade just grinned and waved as he started walking away.

"I'll keep you updated. Just stay safe."

"Don't forget to bring my sensing ability up!"

"Yeah, I won't."

We heard the door shut and proceeded to have a mostly quiet breakfast. As I was finishing up my last bite of hash browns, the doorbell rang again and I went to get it.

When I got close to the door, I could tell it was Alex before I even opened it. I wasn't even trying to detect his aura, but I picked up on it anyways. He felt, agitated?

I opened the door and Alex immediately forced the Aura Stone into my paw.

"Take it back already! The stupid thing didn't let me even set it down for a second!"

I blinked at his mild outburst and didn't miss the slight bags under his eyes.

"Um. Did you not sleep well?"

"No," he huffed and pointed at the stone, "that kept me up nearly all night long."

I looked at the stone, sitting calmly in my paw and looked at Alex with a questioning glance.

"It started vibrating like it was angry and wouldn't stop. My hands are completely numb from the sensation of it. It stopped a minute after I rang your doorbell."

I kept the grin off my face and said, "sorry about that. I guess it doesn't like being apart from me too long. Want to come in?"

He shook his head.

"No. I'm going back home and taking a long nap. See you later," and with that, he turned around and went back to his truck as I closed the door behind myself.

I came back to the kitchen and said, "it was Alex. He just dropped off the Aura Stone."

My mom turned and asked, "the what?"

I told her what Pip had told me about the stone while we cleaned the kitchen.

Once I finished, I remembered something and said, "yesterday, you called Alex and asked us to come home. Was something wrong?"

My mom paused and her tan tail twitched slightly in the silence.

"I'm not sure why, but I felt like something bad was about to happen. Something inside me just seemed to whisper, "get him home." So I called Alex and asked for you three to get home as soon as possible."

Andrea looked at me and I'm pretty sure we had the same idea at the same time.

"That was just a little bit before we were attacked," Andrea said right before I could.

"It was most likely your parental instinct being boosted by the aura in your system. Luna told me about how Lucario have the ability to sense when one of their young are in danger. Even when they are nowhere near their kids. You must have felt that," I explained. I remembered once instance when Luna had been on the roof (for some obscure reason) and Pip had turned and ran right under Luna, who had slipped a moment before, catching her a moment before she hit the ground. She had been turned the other way at the time, so she hadn't seen her slip. Something else had told her that Luna was in danger.

She, my mom, considered this before nodding.

"That makes sense. Just make sure I don't feel it any time soon. It's not a nice sensation."

I agreed before turning to Andrea, "sense we got to hang out with Alex all day yesterday, do you want to call up two of your friends and we can do some last minute school shopping? I've got about everything, I'm just missing one or two things." While Andrea was friendly around Alex, he was more of my friend than hers.

Andrea considered it and nodded.

"Sure. I'll get my phone and call them. I'll be right back." She stood and walked upstairs, to the guest bedroom.

I turned to my mom and asked, "what are you going to be doing?"

"I'm probably going to relax around the house and keep an ear out for the phone, just in case anything comes up. Pass me that pan."

As I passed the requested kitchen tool and handed it to her, she turned around and her tail bumped into my arm lightly.

I started to speak again, but my body was suddenly filled with a familiar sensation that I had associated with what happens after ticking Lucy off too much.

My world twisted out of focus and I found myself on the kitchen floor a few moments later.

"Ow," I groaned and I turned to see my mom freaking out over a little displaced fur that brushing against me had caused. It mirrored how Lucy acted every time some itty bitty thing happened to any of her tails.

After a mandatory eye-rolling, I noticed that she seemed... bigger than usual. In fact, everything was taller than what I was used to.

I glanced down at myself and yelped when I found myself much closer to the ground than usual due to a very obvious difference in the height I was used to and the height I had just then.

"Mooooom!" I complained as I got to my feet shakily. I was so used to the Lucario body that the Riolu body I sported was hard to control.

She finished her grooming and her tail took its place behind her as she finally looked up (more like down) at me.

"Oops. Sorry Jacob. Didn't mean to do that. Just acted on instinct. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I wobbled a little, "I just need to get my balance. I'm not used to being so close to the ground."

Her concerned expression vanished and she snorted at me.

"Is that a short joke?"

I ignored the question and crossed my arms as I asked, "can you just please reverse this? I can't go out in public as a Riolu. I probably wouldn't even be able to defend myself."

I wondered whether I would even be able to use aura sphere and raised my paw. It took an incredible amount of concentration, but a small ball of aura appeared in my paw and promptly vanished the moment I stopped concentrating on it. I had to wait a moment to catch my breath.

One thing was clear. There was no chance I would be able to defend myself against anything more experienced than an amateur trainer in that condition.

My mom waited for me to finish before saying, "I should be able to reverse it. But maybe we should ask Lucy?"

She stopped my protests with a held up paw and continued, "I did that out of pure instinct. It takes actual concentration and practice to take back a curse once one has latched itself on to someone. I was able to do it when I was younger and was a Ninetales for a good deal of my time because I could practice. If I tried it now, I might accidentally put another curse on top of that one rather than remove it."

I bit my lip and began reviewing my options. I could have my mom do it and possibly get something worse piled on top-

"Oh, and it would make the first curse permanently. Thought I should mention that," my mom added and I slumped at the news.

Okay, so either stay a Riolu permanently, or ask Lucy for help and owe her a favor.

Riolu, or favor? Riolu? Favor? Hmmm.

My mom huffed and snatched me up despite my protests. She carried me out to the living room and called for Andrea.

Andrea appeared and said, "yes?"

My mom lifted me up a little with her hands around my middle and said, "it's Jacob, I accidentally cursed him with my Ninetales tail."

Andrea's eyes opened and she walked down the stairs.

I started to feel better, thinking she was about to liberate me from my mom's clutches, but that was dashed the moment she got close enough and I was transferred to her arms.

She held me up so I was scowling from a little ways above her and said, "Aww! You're so adorable! Savannah and Destiny are going to go crazy when they see you!"

Not that they could tell, but I paled under my fur and immediately struggled to get loose. I was somewhat friends with the two of them, but I knew one basic thing that applied to the two that Andrea had invited.

They went crazy around cute Pokemon. Like, total Fangirl™ crazy. I could imagine the tiny outfits they would force me to don as they uploaded albums of the pictures they took of me on every social media site known to human and Pokemon kind.

My efforts were for naught, and I decided things were desperate enough to utter the accursed phrase. A phrase I had only spoken twice before.

"Lucy! I want to make a deal!"

The whole house seemed to pause at my words and the room immediately darkened dramatically. The temperature of the room also took a plunge and I could see my breath misting. Out of a doorway, Lucy walked out of slowly. She was surrounded by spectral lights and blue flames rippled over her tan body as a thin cloak of darkness clung to her form.

She stopped once she was a yard away from us and said in a voice akin to a ghost type with a smoking problem, **"who begs to barter with me?"**

I held back the eye-roll and said, "remove the curse that my mom accidentally put on me and I'll owe you one favor. Usual rules applied."

Lucy grinned and purred, **"deal."**

One of her tails lashed out and wrapped around my leg, narrowly avoiding Andrea's arm as she did so.

The world went out of focus once again and I found myself standing with Andrea's hands on my hips.

She snatched them back and I felt her embarrassment without trying. That told me that my abilities regarding aura had returned.

I sighed and turned back to Lucy, who had returned back to normal and no longer had any supernatural aspects around her. The house and room had returned to normal as well.

"Pleasure doing business with you. I'll collect the debt later," Lucy said before turning and walking out of the room.

There was a moment of silence before Andrea said, "uhh, how did she do that?"

I shook my head and my mom rolled her eyes before answering with, "there's a reason that one of my friends dubbed her, "Reine du Scéne", when we visited her house one Halloween. Never going to get that night out of my head. She's actually a local celebrity in that town. They call her, "Reine du Dramatique," I faintly heard Lucy giggling somewhere else in the house at that second name.

I spoke up, "she's loves being dramatic. Mom says that she spent years toying with her different moves to make those flames."

"But how did she make the room get dark? And her voice like that? And I'm sure I saw my breath misting!"

I blinked and glanced questioningly at my mom, who shrugged and said, "I stopped trying to figure out how she does it years ago. It's best to just move on."

I then groaned and Andrea asked, "what's wrong with you?"

"I owe Lucy," I shivered as I whispered, "a _Favor_..."

Andrea waited a moment, like she expected some sort of explanation, but got nothing.

I forced the memories of the last favor I owed Lucy back into the recesses of my brain, where I normally kept them, and realized something.

"Hey. I'm not aching any more!"

I moved around and found all the stiffness and lingering pain had vanished. Andrea poked me and I shook my head.

"Doesn't hurt at all," I grinned and Andrea rolled her eyes.

"But what exactly is so bad about-?"

I put my paw over her mouth and whispered, "we do not speak of it. Ever."

She pushed my paw off and rolled her eyes again.

"Fine. I won't ask. Are you still up for school shopping?"

I shrugged and said, "sure. But please don't tell Savannah and Destiny about this. I don't want them trying to bribe Lucy into turning me into a Piplup or something."

Andrea got a look in her eye and I pointed at her.

"Don't you even think about it either! I'm watching you!"

Andrea snorted and glanced at my mom before snorting louder.

I looked at my mom and saw the same look in her eyes. At that, I slumped and muttered, "everyone is out to get me."

"Yup."

I glared at Andrea and she just stood there pretending to be innocent but the barely restrained grin gave her away.

The doorbell rang a moment later and I straightened up as Andrea answered it.

"He- hey!" Andrea jumped as a pink blur shot from between her legs and proceeded to run around and look at everything without stopping for a moment.

"Skitty! I told you to not run inside other people's houses without an invitation first!"

The Skitty, for that's what the pink blur was, paused in its inspection of a folded up blanket and walked back to the front door to Destiny, who was shaking her head.

I felt the faintest memory of the night I was turned into a Skitty rise up and looked around for Lucy in case she got any sadistic ideas with the sudden arrival of one. With that favor in her possession, she could easily turn me into one and ask me not to inform my mom for a certain amount of time. (And yes. I would have to do it.)

"Sorry about that," Savannah said once Destiny had the energetic Pokemon in her arms.

I blinked and said, "no problem. Are we going to all fit in your car or will we be driving separately?"

"We can ride together. Are you ready to go?"

"Just a minute." I hurried upstairs and got a small backpack where I stored my wallet, phone, and the Aura Stone. We left after I gave my mom a goodbye kiss and promised to be safe. Savannah drove and Destiny had the passenger side while the Pokemon of the group, (Andrea, Skitty, and myself), sat in the back. Andrea kept Skitty semi-calm by petting the Pokemon the whole ride.

"So do you have a Pokemon with you, Savannah?" While Skitty was cute and everything, she wasn't exactly much of a fighter.

"Yup. Destiny, would you-?"

"Got it," Destiny reached into Savannah's purse and withdrew a shrunken pokeball.

Once she enlarged it, the Pokemon came out without hesitation and a Buizel appeared in the small space between Andrea and me.

The water-type blinked and looked around.

Savannah spoke up without looking away from the road, "these are my friends. Say hi, Buizel."

Buizel looked at the two of us and said, "were you poor saps pulled into going dress shopping?"

I shivered and said, "thank Arceus, no. We're just going shopping for school supplies."

His relief was evident as his whole body relaxed and he grinned.

"Good. Did your trainer ask you to pick some stuff up?"

"Er, no. The thing is, me and Andrea, we were not born as Pokemon."

Buizel blinked, not understanding.

I started to explain, to tell him what all had been happening to us recently, but Andrea spoke up.

"We were on a date, as humans at the time, when he turned into a Lucario. He accidentally scratched me, which transformed me due to all the uncontrollable aura running through him at the time. Don't ask why he transformed originally because we are not sure."

I paused in surprise at how well she summarized what would have taken me at least three times the time to explain properly without giving away too much information.

Buizel nodded slowly and said, "okay."

I was surprised at how quickly he accepted our story and didn't ask questions, but didn't comment on it. Destiny gave me a questioning look and I translated the Buizel's previous question for the two who didn't speak Pokemon.

"So are you two able to use actual moves?", Destiny asked.

"Yup," I answered, offering no explanations.

"What does it feel like to be covered in fur?"

"Like having clothes on," I said, holding back a grin at Andrea's pulse of embarrassment at my words.

"So you can understand Pokemon now? Both of you?"

"Yup."

"Cool! What does it sound like to you?"

"Like how you sound now."

Skitty, who had been resting quietly until that point, spoke up in a slightly high pitched feminine tone, "why are you a different color than normal Lucario?"

Andrea paused in her petting to say, "we tried something to turn me back human. It didn't work. I got blonde fur as a result of that."

Skitty tilted her head and said, to Andrea, "I wonder how you would look with pink fur?"

I grinned when Andrea's shivered at the suggestion and she shot me a glare.

"Hey! What's so funny?" Savannah whined from up front, not being able to understand half of the conversation.

I snickered and said, "your Skitty just asked how Andrea would look with pink fur instead of blonde."

Destiny and Savannah laughed at this and Andrea whacked me over the head.

"Don't even think about it! I'll bribe Lucy into-"

"Okay! No need to go that far!" I held my paws up in a surrendering gesture. My grin was gone by that point.

Unfortunately, Andrea now had a sadistic grin and said, "hey, Savannah, Destiny. What's your opinion on Riolu?"

The resulting squees had the two males in the vehicle covering our ears and cringing.

"They're so cute! I saw one in a Contest with the most adorable dress!"

Andrea looked at me pointedly and asked, "wouldn't you love to take a Riolu dress shopping?"

"I would spend HOURS in the store looking for the most perfect outfit!"

"Hmm, I'll keep an eye out for a Riolu for you."

"Really? Thanks!"

The underlying threat from her words made me promise to not say the word "pink" casually in Andrea's presence for awhile.

We talked about different random things for the rest of the ride until we arrived at the plaza.

We went into the general store for our school supplies and I felt my body freeze when I saw a practical HORDE of trainers strolling about.

"Andrea," I said in a tone that was only slightly panicked, but Andrea picked up on it.

"What's wrong?"

"Please don't go into the pokeball section. Not even through it."

"Don't worry. Alex captured me in one of the pokeballs and it's at your house in the safe."

I felt relief, and asked, "when did you do that?"

"Sometime after putting you in the pokeball at the hospital."

I nodded and we followed after the two girls we were with and their Pokemon.

Skitty was nestled in Destiny's arms while Buizel walked beside Savannah on her right side. I walked right next to Andrea and we were right behind the other two.

Trainers and other shoppers stared at us periodically as we got our supplies, but none actually bothered us. Thank Arceus for small favors.

We finished shopping and were headed to the front to pay when we were met with a sight that chilled my blood.

"Excuse me," a polite voice distracted me from the battalion of various News vehicles that were parked in the plaza. I knew that there were not that many when we went in and cursed silently. Someone must have tipped them off that we were shopping.

I turned to see a trainer, a girl who looked to be about in 7th grade, and said, "yes?"

"I told them that you were in the antique store on the other side of the road when they came bursting in here."

I relaxed a little and nodded.

"Thanks a lot. I hope none of them caused you any hassle?"

She snorted, "nope. It was funny to see them scramble over each other to get to the "golden Lucario". I just hate it when people freak out over things like that. Maybe you'll get lucky and they will break something in there and have to pay for it or something."

I chuckled at that and said, "thanks again, but I think we'll be going now before they see us," I waved and turned to the rest of the group.

"Lets pay and get going. I really don't want to blow any holes in the parking lot or accidentally destroy anything to get away from psycho reporters."

Maybe it was because she heard that sentence, or just good service, but the cashier scanned our stuff and got us through in record time. Judging from the underlying current of nervousness that I sensed coming from her, I would guess that it was the former.

I carried most of the bags, being the gentleman-er- gentlepokemon- I was taught to be.

We walked quickly through the parking lot, and somehow avoided notice by any News Vans. We shoved the bags in the trunk and drove off without an issue. I made a mental note to thank that girl again if I ever saw her around. She saved us a ton of hassle.

Destiny got a call from her mom and we had to cut the trip short.

Savannah dropped us off at my house and drove off as we walked to the front door. I tried the front door, only to find it was locked. I looked to the right and noticed that my mom's vehicle was absent from its usual spot.

I frowned and knocked on the door, unwilling to take the time to actually get the hidden key.

A few moments later, something messed with the doorknob on the other side and it opened up to reveal Lucy, who had somehow unlocked and opened a door with a round doorknob and a partially stuck lock. (I gave up on trying to figure out how she did it a long time ago.)

"Where did mom go?", I asked right off the bat, setting the bags on the kitchen to sort later.

"Hannah took care of those errands that she was going to do on the day she was transformed. Don't worry, she had me catch her in a pokeball before she left and promised to keep us updated."

I relaxed and nodded.

"Okay. Any news about dad?"

Despite expecting the answer, Lucy's response of a shaking head still made the gnawing worry in me grow a little worse.

"Any news from Uncle Shade?" (I could practically hear his grumbling voice, as though from a distance, _"I'm not your Uncle.")_

"No. Though with the investigation taking so long, it's only a matter of time before they allow you to assist them. Frankly, they really need to swallow their pride and accept your help. You'll probably do better than their entire tracking division."

I smiled, feeling a little better, and said, "thanks, Lucy."

She grunted before turning around and walking off.

As she was about to round a corner, she said, "oh, and be ready for when I call in my favor. I haven't forgotten."

Perhaps it was her grin. Or maybe just the reminder that I owed her *shiver* a favor. But one or the other made goosebumps pop up all over my body, unseen under my fur but shown by how my fur rose up a little along my neck and spine (and tail, for that matter).

With that, Lucy sauntered away.

Andrea, who saw my expression, rolled her eyes and said, "you're such a weenie. It can't be-"

"It is!"

"But, what about the last favor-"

I hissed, **_"we do not speak of it!"_**

With that, I hugged myself and shivered violently at the memory while Andrea just shook her head in exasperation in the background.

"Scaredy Skitty."

I just shivered more violently at the mention of Skitty and jumped when I thought I saw something pink on the edge of my vision.

* * *

And that's a wrap! I finished this up on a 5 hour bus ride heading home from a drill meet at FAMU for my NJROTC unit. Fun trip. We won a trophy.

It is ridiculously difficult to hide the screen from a bunch of fellow teenagers who have little else to do but bug me about what I'm writing about. (I pulled up an entire section written solely in a cipher that I constructed one day in Gym class and they soon grew bored of my explanation. Hehehe.)

And Sonic77 (guest)! Great to see your face! (sort of). I'm glad to see that you're still a part of . (To clarify for the rest of you, Sonic77 was my very first reviewer on Curse of the Lucario (my first story on this site.) And I am excited to have his opinion back on the board.)

To Insomniac98338 and Freak4Lucario. Thanks so much for your amazing OC submissions. I'll do my absolute best to bring your characters into being and put them at the same level as Shade Mutatin. :)

That's about it. Please review and tell me what you think.


	13. First Contact

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 13

Something I just want to let you all know, I just turned 17 :D. I am now legally able to use magic! Goodbye Trace! (You get points (house points) if you know what I'm blathering on about.) But anyways. I've been busy with birthday stuff, so sorry if I took my sweet time with this chapter.

Here's where it starts to pick up! Time to get excited! (This has been my favorite chapter to type up thus far.) So enjoy :).

Disclaimer: if I own Pokemon, then I have some major lawsuits to file. As I do not have a lawyer, I suppose I do not own Pokemon as consequence. A pity.

* * *

Chapter 13

First Contact

JACOB'S POV

We spent the rest of the day doing different things. Sometime in the late afternoon, I attempted to teach Andrea how to use one or two moves that I was able to use with ease, but found that she had very little skill in that area.

She was, however, able to use several moves that gave me trouble. Among those were; double team, psychic, and shadow ball. She could also use protect, but was only able to hold it for a short time. She seemed to have much more skill with moves that took extra concentration to execute. Aura sphere, however, she could never get it down.

Andrea went inside when it began to get dark, but I stayed outside a little longer. This was due to the Aura Stone. I wanted to mess around with it, but didn't want to accidentally hurt Andrea in the process if something went wrong.

So, after she left, I retrieved the Stone and sat down at the edge of the woods with my back leaning against a tree. I held the Stone in my paws, feeling it's flawless surface and observing how the slight glow that came from it never fluxed, despite anything that happened to or around it.

I remembered how the stone had protected me, back when the poacher was about to finish me off. It formed a protective dome that stopped the Ariados in its tracks, and bought the others enough time to get help. Once its purpose had been fulfilled, it went straight back into the small shape that I held in my paws.

Pip had said that the Stone could possibly have the consciousness of someone held inside. And I believed her. The Aura Stone, when I really focused on trying to sense it, seemed to have some sort of dormant consciousness. The only times I had felt that being stir had been the incident with the poacher, and the first time I had picked the thing up. It was like what you felt when someone tried to speak to you via aura, but not actually "connecting". A brushing against your mind.

I wondered what would happen if I tried talking to it out loud. I glanced around to see if anyone was nearby who would hear me before I held it close to my face and awkwardly said, "hello? Can anybody in there hear me?"

I waited a moment and let out the breath I had been holding. Nothing had changed about the Stone.

I attempted to speak to the Stone several times via aura, and received the same result as my vocal attempt.

I sighed and stood up. It had gotten almost fully dark at that point, but I could still see clearly, even without the use of aura. I jumped as a crack of lightening lit up the sky a moment before a light rain began to fall.

I began jogging back to my house, and wished I had thought to bring an umbrella when we had gone outside.

Only moments after thinking that, I felt the Aura Stone writhe in my grasp and I stopped in frozen surprise as I felt a decent drain from my stores of aura go into the Stone. The stone elongated into a long thin cylinder with a large dome on one end.

I didn't even realize what it had done until the rain suddenly got harder and I put the dome above me in order to prevent my fur from getting wet. It was in that moment that I saw that the Aura Stone had transformed itself into precisely what I wanted moments earlier. An umbrella. It was missing the hook on the end that you held, but it was unmistakably an umbrella.

I grinned at the discovery and hastened to my house to show Andrea what I had done.

I came in the back, and called out, "hey Andrea! Come see this!"

I heard sound of someone getting up from the couch in the living room right before Andrea came into view.

"What is it?"

"Look at this," I raised the still slightly dripping Aura Stone/umbrella, "I think I made the Aura Stone change shape!"

Her eyes widened with interest and she came closer to inspect the blue umbrella.

I poked the top, and found that it was as hard as the Stone normally was. The entire thing almost looked like it was etched out of rock and carved into shape. Oddly enough, the umbrella was about the same weight as the Aura Stone itself. It had no other colors aside from the normal blue I had grown used to. I noticed that it didn't glow, even in the dim lighting that we were in.

"How did you do it? And can you make it normal?", Andrea asked.

I shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I just thought about it and it suddenly started taking aura from me as it transformed. And I hope I can turn it back. Let me try," I held the transformed Aura Stone away from my body and tried to concentrate on the sensation I had felt when it morphed the first time.

I held a mental image of the Aura Stone in its "dormant state" (I had decided to call it that when it was just in the form of a rock) and pushed some of my aura into it. The dome began to collapse in on itself and the cylinder shortened as it all got steadily closer to my extended paw. At the last moment, my mind shifted and a large chunk of aura was drained out of me as the stone wrapped itself around my arm in the shape of a brace.

The moment it stopped moving, I slumped over and started breathing heavily.

Andrea put her paw on my shoulder to steady me and asked, "are you okay?"

I straightened and said, "apparently it takes a lot of aura to transform. Look," I held up the new bracer that started at my wrist and stopped right before the elbow. Three "straps" held the bracer in place on the underside of my arm. I was both surprised and grateful at how it avoided pinching or pulling any of my fur.

"Why did you turn it into an arm guard?"

"It's a bracer," I corrected her and she rolled her eyes, "partly because it's a hassle to carry around the Aura Stone as a rock when we do not have any pockets and this makes it easier. The other reason is because bracers are cool." Hey, I happen to like medieval stuff, and bracers are cool looking.

She rolled her eyes again at my childish declaration and I ignored her to instead ask, "is my mom home yet?" I hadn't heard her vehicle pull up, but I may have missed it.

Andrea shook her head, "not yet. Though I did get a call from Mr Shade-"

"He prefers to just be called Shade, or Uncle Shade if you're close enough." Uncle Shade did not like being called sir unless the situation demanded it. It was a quirk of his that I liked.

"Oh. Well Shade called and said that the WPO still hasn't, and I quote, "got their heads out of the Diglett hole and got their act together yet." And he asked me how you were doing, so I told him about all that happened yesterday."

I groaned, "he laughed didn't he?"

"Honestly, I was a little surprised you didn't hear it outside."

I sighed. "I'm going to have to deal with that later. Did he say anything else?"

"Only that they haven't made much progress with your dad. Sorry."

I waved my paw, "it's alright. Want to watch a movie?"

Andrea, sensing my desire to change the topic, gave me the opportunity and agreed.

We ended up pulling out the very movie that was based off my dad and watching it. Oddly enough, it was called, "C_urse of the Lucario_." My dad always grinned at the ridiculous title and said that filmmakers liked to be dramatic.

All throughout the movie, I made little comments when the movie embellished or skipped over some parts. My dad did the same the first few times we watched it together.

My mom arrived about halfway through the movie and, after setting a few things she had in the kitchen, joined us in watching the movie. She also joined me in pointing out what was real and otherwise, much to the annoyance of Lucy, who joined us halfway through.

We finished it and my mom headed to bed while I put up the movie and Andrea stretched to loosen a little from sitting still so long. Lucy slipped away unnoticed.

I finished putting the movie away and, as I walked by her, I leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek and said, "goodnight."

She froze as I walked away, probably surprised that I was the one to do the goodnight kiss instead of her.

Eventually, she said, "goodnight," back. I smiled before going into my room and going to bed. (Surprisingly enough, the Aura Stone didn't bother me in the slightest as I slept.)

* * *

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday passed without anything big happening. The WPO still hadn't accepted my help during that time and only my self-restraint kept me from calling the leaders of the WPO and telling them to hurry up and accept my help so we could find my dad. (That, and the fact that I didn't have their number and Uncle Shade wouldn't give it to me.)

I kept on edge those days, waiting for Lucy to try and call in the _Favor_, but she didn't. It made me extremely wary. I practiced morphing the Aura Stone into different things. From this, I learned that changing the shape of the Aura Stone is exhausting to the aura. I usually only managed to change it into something and back to its normal form about six times before I started getting dizzy from the drain. And, maybe it had caught on to my liking of its bracer shape, but it's "default" appeared to have shifted to the bracer.

It appeared to take more effort to turn it into its rock shape rather than its new default bracer shape, so I typically kept it attached to my arm all the time.

Finally, Monday rolled around. Andrea woke up almost a full half hour before me in order to hog the bathroom. I wondered idly what took her so much longer than me when we both had to deal with the same exact stuff. (Even our fur length was basically the same, aside from the fur on her head (it resembled her human blonde hair more than the Lucario fur that I had) yet it took her a lot longer to smooth it out. I just couldn't understand it.)

Once we were ready, and it was time, we grabbed our backpacks and I drove us to school. Andrea's parents had dropped her backpack off along with all her other supplies on Saturday when we invited them over for dinner at our place. (It was a surprisingly relaxed experience. Not at all what I expected and spent a full hour preparing for.)

We arrived at the school very early. Only three other vehicles sat in the student parking lot when we got there. The reason we arrived so early was so we could ask for our schedules early and not have to deal with the bustle when all the other students arrived.

Our high school was a small school. Only around five or six hundred students attended it. The student parking lot was almost opposite of the front office on the campus. It took us about five minutes to traverse the entire distance at walking speed.

I walked into the front office first and saw Ms Fronds typing away at her computer with her usual ferocity.

"Morning," I said and she jumped.

"The schedules will be handed-," she suddenly stopped when she looked up to see us.

"Yeah, I was sort of hoping we could get ours early so we could explain "this"," I indicated myself and Andrea with my paws, "to our teachers in order to avoid confusion later."

Ms Fronds nodded silently a moment later and gestured for us to follow her out of the office. She led us to the library and she had a hushed conversation, that we could hear easily, and the librarian approached us.

She set a keyboard in front of us and said, "type in your number."

I typed my school ID in and, after a few clicks from her, she went into a back room. She returned holding four textbooks and a sheet of paper, all of which she transferred to my arms.

The process was repeated in awkward silence with Andrea. Once we stowed our books in our separate lockers, which were conveniently close together, we visited each of our teachers and told them who we were. We finished right as the first period bell rang and we separated to go to our classes.

My first class happened to be PE. Needless to say, I was excused from dressing out.

Unlike other teachers, who spent the first day handing out paperwork that needed signing and telling the rules, Coach Rocks (yes, his last name was Rocks), had exactly none of that.

He started with a well known classic. Dodgeball.

He picked two people, who swiftly picked teams, and we were all on separate sides of the gym moments later. The Coach blew his whistle and I stayed where I was. He had asked me to not go for the balls sitting in the middle right away since my Pokemon body gave me a bigger advantage, speed and agility wise.

It was only after the initial skirmish between the jocks that got seven people out in the first few seconds that I walked forwards some.

I typically stayed semi-close to the line. Far away enough that I had time to see and dodge attempts to get me out, but close enough to retaliate when the chances came up.

The game went on, and soon, I was one of the last five- strike that, four, left.

By this time, I had grown a little bit bored, and wanted a challenge. So, I closed my eyes and extended my aura senses, much to the confusion of both teams.

I ignored the yells from my side to open my eyes and instead stepped to the side to dodge a low flying ball that would have clipped my leg.

Sadly, my teammates that were still in were not the best in terms of throwing, and only served to give the last three on the other team more ammunition.

When it was me and other left, I decided it was time to show off a little. The last three threw their balls at me at the same time and, instead of dodging like I had been, I spun to the right and caught two of the balls while the last flew past, getting caught by the last one and ending the game.

Once first was over, second and third passed without anything of real note happening. (There were, of course, questions thrown at me. But I typically answered them in vague ways before returning to whatever the teacher was saying.)

I had Alex in second, and managed to walk with Andrea on the way to lunch after third.

We got our food and sat in a semi-secluded spot in the lunchroom. We sat a table with booths on both sides and sat on the same side.

"Anybody been bothering you?", I asked her.

"A few have tried, but the teachers always put a stop to it. Usually, people keep asking me who I am."

"Have you got the, "have you got a trainer?", question yet?"

"Four times. Ugh."

"Six for me. Hey Alex," I greeted him as he scooted in the empty spot.

"Hey Jacob, Andrea."

Andrea returned the greeting with a nod, her mouth being full.

Alex glanced at the bracer and I lifted it up slightly.

"I figured out to change the Stone's shape at will."

"Is that a bracer?"

I grinned and said, "finally! Someone gets it!"

Alex nodded appreciably at the awesomeness that covered my arm while Andrea shook her head.

"What do you have for the rest of the day?", Alex asked, pulling out his schedule at the same time.

I got mine out.

"I've got; for fourth, Anatomy. Fifth, Battle Techniques and Styles. Sixth, Nutrition and Wellness. What about you?"

Alex looked at his and announced, "I've got fifth with you. That's it for my later classes."

Andrea got hers out and said, "I've got fourth and sixth with you. You two really signed up for BTS?"

We shrugged, but her look demanded an explanation.

"I needed another elective and it looked like it would be interesting. Seeing our current circumstances, I'm glad I chose that. Maybe-?"

Andrea shook her head and said forcefully, "not a chance. I'm not about to change my schedule. I hear those classes are full of trainers who think they're hot shots. And anyways, aren't you supposed to have a Pokemon partner before attending? How did you sign up without one?"

I averted my eyes and lowered my head as I took a sip from my drink. Andrea narrowed her eyes at me until I finally threw my paws up and said, "okay! I was going to invite Luna to come on any days Pokemon were required. She was curious about what all I actually do at high school and agreed when I asked."

Andrea blinked before shrugging. "That's not a big deal. What Pokemon are you bringing, Alex?"

Alex grinned and said, "I was going to borrow my cousin's Donphan, but Jacob agreed to be my Pokemon for the days that they are needed."

Andrea snickered and we ignored her.

"I wonder if they'll let me use my Aura Stone when fighting?"

Alex shrugged, "maybe. They let people attach items that increases a Pokemon's abilities. I don't see how that isn't any different."

I nodded my agreement and hoped we were right.

* * *

It was about time for lunch to end, and I was raising my drink to finish it off, that's when I felt a stab of emotion run through me. I didn't even notice that I had dropped my drink and that it had gotten my fur wet. I closed my eyes and noticed that my aura had been brushed by something. But not a coherent thought, or even an emotion. It definitely wasn't the Aura Stone. It had a different feeling to it.

"Jacob!" I blinked and opened my eyes to see Alex and Andrea staring at me with worry. I had a feeling that was not the first time they had said my name.

"What's wrong? You just froze up and closed your eyes," Andrea passed me some napkins as she said this and I wiped my damp fur absentmindedly.

"I felt something just a second ago. It felt like something bad may have just happened to someone." I wasn't so sure at the start of my explanation, but when I finished, I was certain.

Andrea sucked in a breath and whispered, "maybe you should call your mom? See if there is any new news from your Uncle Shade or the WPO?"

I nodded and dug my phone out of my backpack before heading out of the lunchroom and into a semi-secluded area to make the call.

My fingers were shaking so much that I nearly broke the phone in frustration after messing up for the fifth time. But I didn't. That would have been counterproductive.

I managed to type in my mom's number and hit the call button.

I released my pent up breath when the other end finally picked up and immediately said, "hey Mom?"

"Jacob? Is anything wrong?" She picked up on my tense tone at once and developed a worried one.

"Er-," I then felt a little foolish and said, "sorry, not really. I just had a weird feeling a little while ago and needed to make sure there wasn't anything wrong. You're okay, right?"

"I'm fine. How are you and Andrea holding up?"

"Aside from some teasing here and there, we're fine. Any news from Uncle Shade or the WPO?"

"Nothing. Sorry honey."

"It's okay. I've got to go. Text or call me if you hear anything or if something happens."

"I will. Be careful."

"Yes ma'am," and with that, I ended the call. I felt somewhat better, knowing that nothing was wrong, but I couldn't help but shake the original feeling.

I went back and gave Andrea and Alex the news before walking with Andrea to fourth.

The rest of the day passed without anything of note happening. The ominous feeling lingered throughout the day.

When the final bell rang, I grabbed my stuff and hustled to my vehicle. I then drove towards my house with Andrea.

We were getting close to my house when I noticed a large column of dark smoke. The feeling that had been around for so long suddenly solidified into dread.

A bitter taste appeared in my mouth when I saw that the smoke came from the direction of my house.

My fears were confirmed as I drove down the road my house was on and saw water type Pokemon surrounding my home.

It was engulfed in flames.

I parked my vehicle on the side of the road and ran to where a yellow tape barrier had been erected. There was a small crowd of people standing around the tape, and I'm not ashamed to say that I pushed through them to get to the front and I stepped over the tape.

"Sir, please get-", a police officer began to say.

"This is my home, do you know what happened?"

The man blinked and shook his head.

"No. We got the call about twenty minutes ago from one of the neighbors. They first called when they noticed that the glass on one of your windows had been broken and then called again when they saw that a fire had started."

"Have you seen another Lucario around?"

"There's one right there," the man pointed at the approaching Andrea and I forced back the urge to snap at him.

"Not her. An older one with a tan tail. And have you seen a Ninetales?"

"Haven't seen either of them. Were those two supposed to be home?"

I nodded and felt Andrea grab my paw to comfort me.

A Magmar came out of the front door, unaffected by the flames thanks to its fire type status, and walked over to the man before shaking his head.

The police officer turned to me and said, "Magmar here says that there is no one inside."

Magmar turned to me and said, "but I did see signs of a struggle. Several pieces of furniture were broken and there were holes in the wall that seemed to have no explanation. Please tell him that."

I paled at the news as Andrea repeated Magmar's words to the man.

"I've got to make a call," I walked away and typed in my mom's number in record time.

I wasn't even graced with a ring.

I forced back the feeling of tears in my eyes and said, "Andrea. I think you should go back to your parents. I'm going to call my Uncle Shade and have him force them to let me help."

I was already pushing the numbers in when I heard the first scream.

I looked up at the crowd, where the sound had originated, and saw an immense cloud of purple gas surrounding the people, causing many to pass out and others to hobble a few steps before throwing up violently.

The cause of the purple smoke was obvious when you looked up and saw a Weezing spewing out the stuff directly above the crowd. Two other Weezing filled the street with their smog attacks and made it so that only the front yard of my house was untouched by the gas.

"What in the world?" The sight caused me to freeze in confusion and I almost missed how half of the people in police uniforms suddenly began striking down other uniformed officers.

"What is going on!?" I backed up with Andrea holding on to my arm, not sure how to react to what was happening.

Before I could answer her panicked question, I felt a sharp jerking motion. I found myself, oddly enough, extremely high up in the air.

I blinked a few times at the tears the wind caused my eyes to produce before looking up at the Skarmory that had its talons gripping my shoulders.

"Hey! Put me down!" I wasn't the best fan of heights, and being so far up without something supporting me was not a pleasant sensation.

A woman stuck her head over the side of the Skarmory and shouted to be heard over the wind, "calm down, Jacob! I work for the WPO! Your Uncle Shade told me to tell you, and these are his exact words, _"trust this lady, she's as serious as a Ninetales who has just had its tails rainbow-ified!_" I don't get what he means by that, but he insisted that you would understand. Do you!?"

In any other circumstance, I would have snickered at that, but instead nodded and said, "but what about Andrea?!"

The woman shouted, "my partner has her! They're following a little ways behind! Uhh, can you tell her to relax? She's about to hit my partner with a shadow ball!"

I felt around with my aura and found three beings following behind us. Andrea was easily identified by her spiking aura that projected her current state of mind. I zeroed in on Andrea and said, "Andrea, please refrain from attacking the flying type. They work for the WPO."

Out loud, I shouted, "I asked her to stop!"

"Thanks! She's calmed down now- crap!" I was shaken as something impacted the Skarmory.

"What's going on!?"

"We're being followed! Hold on!" Before I could protest, the Skarmory escalated quickly, leaving my stomach at a lower elevation from the maneuver.

One good thing the rising action did was that it allowed me to see who exactly was following us. Five people rode on the backs of flying types with two other Pokemon flying beside them. Andrea and the other guy flew close to the ground, and were being followed by only two attackers.

I saw one of them shout something, and while I couldn't hear the actual words, the attack used became obvious when golden star-like projectiles flew from a Fearow.

"Skarmory! Eject flares!"

Flares? Was that a code name for a combination of moves?

I felt Skarmory's body shake violently and, just in time to fall right in the path of the enemy-seeking swift attack, a few metal feathers shed and blocked the attack.

I had no time to admire the strategy, as several other kinds of attacks sped our way.

I yelled, "turn me around! I can knock them out of the air!"

The Skarmory managed to turn me around without dropping me and I quickly began firing off aura spheres to block the attacks.

"How much-", I fired off an aura sphere to block a jet of flame from a Charizard, "longer," another to ward off some of those blasted stars, "until we land!?"

"Two minutes, roughly!"

I grit my teeth and continued blasting the attacks out of the sky. The only reason they had not attacked us en masse was due to me screeching like a demon directly in their heads when they got close enough for me to form a connection under such stressful circumstances.

But eventually, they figured out that I could only throw aura spheres so quickly. And I was getting tired. They all fired at us at the same time, filling the lower atmosphere with flame, stars, and other violent and painful things.

At that point, Skarmory finally lost the grip on me.

I felt gravity take hold and had only one thought.

_"I wonder if I can use raw aura like a jet engine? Can I dad?"_

_"..."_

_"I know I've said it before, but in this instance, **SILENCE IS NOT BLISS!**"_

I began falling towards the ground and I saw the group trying to capture me maneuver themselves directly under my falling form.

I narrowed my eyes, an idea half formed in my head, and I took a split second to see if it would work.

Probably not. But better than hitting the ground at terminal velocity. (Emphasis on **TERMINAL**..)

The moment I impacted the back of the Charizard, I used extremespeed and slowed myself down even more by landing on the back of a Pidgeot. I repeated this method two more times on various backs before jumping off of the lowest flying Pokemon. I had moved too quickly for anyone to get a hold of me, so my half-thought out plan actually worked!

But I was still falling. Just not as fast. So I would count it as a partial success.

I approached the forest below me and crossed my arms in front of my face, hoping I would land on something soft-ish.

Moments before I hit the branch of a tree, I felt my momentum reduce greatly and nearly passed out from the relief.

"Would you grab the freaking branch! I can't hold this for long!"

I obliged without thinking and the soft blue glow around my body vanished. I looked down at the ground to see Andrea standing there, panting slightly after using her psychic to save me. It had obviously taken a lot out of her.

I let myself drop the seemingly small distance from the tree to the ground and said, "sorry for dropping in unexpectedly."

I saw almost twenty people who were standing around with various Pokemon, suddenly freeze and groan as one at my attempt at a pun.

I rolled my eyes at their reactions and went to Andrea.

"Thanks. That would've really hurt."

She nodded and turned to the guy who had flown Andrea there, "where's mister Shade?"

"I told you that I prefer to be called just Shade," a welcome voice joked as he walked up to us.

I turned to him and I felt the slightest bit better.

"I spoke to Narri yesterday. He said that, while the flight will knock your sensing ability out for a little while," my breath hitched when I remembered Narri's warning, "it will only be gone for around two days or so since it was such a short flight." My breath returned, though I still felt horrible for being effectively useless for the next two days.

"It can't be helped. Now what's the plan?"

A radio on Uncle Shade's hip squawked a moment before a voice came through, "a large number of uniformed individuals just appeared in the sky. They're no longer worried about keeping themselves discrete. ETA, roughly twenty minutes."

Shade gave an affirmative through to the person on the other end of the radio and shouted to the people gathered, "all flyers, take arranged blockade positions! Ground forces! Keep low flyers from going under the group! Move!"

Like a general commanding his troops, his words caused immediate action among those gathered. In three minutes, only Shade, Andrea, the guy who had brought Andrea, and myself were left in that little section of the forest.

Shade turned back to us with a serious expression that I have only seen on him when things got VERY bad.

"Jacob and Andrea. I want you to go with Derek here and have him escort you to the nearest safe location. Derek," the guy, who seemed around Uncle Shade's age, straightened at the attention put on him, "it's up to you to decide at what seems safe. Once you get somewhere, dig in and try not to attract too much attention until we can send a bigger force to extract all of you. Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

Uncle Shade nodded at the man and said to us, "the two of you. Stay safe. Do not take any unnecessary risks. Listen to Derek here. Now get going."

Uncle Shade took off his coat and let it drop to the ground as his wings stretched out. He took a few steps before flapping them down and taking to the air. His gloves fell moments later, allowing him the use of his claws.

We could already hear the sounds of fighting coming from above us as Derek got us moving in the opposite direction of the battle.

"We have some vehicles about two miles this way. There was no way to bring them any closer with how thick the underbrush is around here."

With his explanation out of the way, and us moving fairly quickly, I asked, "does anybody know where my mom and Lucy are?"

"Sorry, but I haven't heard anything about that. Don't you have some sort of ability to sense your family?"

I gritted my teeth and said, "I do, but due to that flight, it's going to be out of commission for a couple days. Narri told me it has to do with how flying isn't natural for anyone who isn't a flying type or something like that."

Derek grunted in acknowledgement and continued to jog. I kept myself slow to stay with Derek and Andrea. Andrea may have been able to keep up with a faster pace, but I doubted that Derek could keep up with our surprisingly hardy Pokemon bodies.

We had been jogging for about fifteen minutes, all the sounds of battle had faded, when a device on Derek's arm beeped twice before Derek pressed a button on it and said, "this is Derek," still jogging as the conversation started.

"Derek," an unfamiliar feminine tone came through, "three have gotten through, that we know of. A flyer and two ground-bound Pokemon. Take extreme caution. Use any and all necessary means of force to keep those two safe. Reinforcements are coming but won't be here for awhile. Out."

"Acknowledged. Out." Derek put down his arm and said, "both of you, listen to me. Chances are pretty high that the ones coming after us will have psychic Pokemon with them. Under no circumstances are you to allow yourselves to get more than ten meters away from me unless I tell you to."

"Why ten meters?", Andrea asked.

Derek patted his pocket and said, "I'm carrying a device that interrupts the teleportation process and some psychic abilities. As long as you stay close, they will be unable to teleport you away or just drag you away with a psychic attack. Do either of you know how to use protect?"

"I do," Andrea confirmed and Derek nodded before looking at me.

"Sorry, but I can't pull it off. I can dodge pretty dang well though. And I can change this into a shield," I held up the Aura Stone, in bracer form, "if I need to."

Derek looked at the blue bracer and nodded slightly, "if you know it will block a strong attack, then use it. Otherwise, just dodge."

I nodded and I twisted my head when I heard something behind us.

"Derek! I can hear something running behind us and catching up!"

It was faint, but I heard the repeating pattern of something impacting the ground harshly.

I heard Derek mutter something under his breath before he got something out of his pocket, twiddled with it for a moment, and dropped it.

"What was that?"

"It'll slow whoever it is down. But I suggest you stop trying to listen too carefully behind us until it goes off."

I focused back in the direction we were running, and I soon found out what the thing that Derek had dropped did.

To Andrea's ears, and mine, it sounded like a dog whistle had been blown directly in our ears. It caused the both of us to stumble and cover our ears with our paws as we ran.

We were almost half a mile from the thing when it went off. Later, I almost felt sorry for the Pokemon that was anywhere near it when it activated.

But, at the time, it slowed them down. So I was grateful.

"That's the only one I have. It only goes on for three minutes, but it should keep the person down for at least an hour, if not longer," Derek said after the both of us removed our paws from our ears.

I grunted and felt a tingling sensation on the back of my neck right before a pokeball came flying at me from in front of us and slammed right into my nose.

"Owww!" The impact of the small ball caused me to trip and I gripped my snout as waves of pain made themselves known.

"Ugh! You made this so much harder on yourself!" An angry voice came from the front of us and we looked up, me with watering eyes, at a man standing on the back of a hovering Pidgeot.

The man shrugged and said, "whatever. Come on out." He dropped a pokeball and I used the time it took for the Pokemon to materialize to stand up and stand to Andrea's right.

I felt apprehension as the Aagron appeared and stood to his full, incredibly imposing, height.

"Derek, got anything else up your sleeve?"

Derek gave me a wry grin before pulling, out of his sleeves of all places, a pokeball and called it out. A Mightyena came out and growled at the Aagron before Derek shouted, "dark pulse!"

Mightyena unleashed a wave of dark energy that hit the behemoth, and it only rocked the armored Pokemon a little. I began spamming aura spheres when the man commanded, "use hyper beam."

Unlike with the dark pulse, Aagron felt those aura spheres, and it damaged him enough that he couldn't concentrate enough to complete the attack. Thankfully, despite not actually firing it off, he still was affected by the "cool down" time that the attack demanded.

"Use bite!"

"Ice beam!"

Mightyena darted for the giant and the fur on his back was iced over by the near miss from the Aagron's attack. Mightyena jumped and bit down on Aagron's shoulder with a vengeance.

I supported Mightyena by throwing aura spheres one after the other, aiming low as to not hit my ally. Andrea's supporting shadow balls, along with all the other abuse, forced the big Pokemon back several steps before he swatted at Mightyena, forcing the Pokemon to abandon ship and return to Derek's side.

The man on the back of the Pidgeot growled and pulled out several more pokeballs.

"All of you, deal with the mutt then get me those two Lucario!"

The pokeballs opened, releasing four hulking figures that were mirror images of the Aagron we had nearly taken down.

I could see Derek's face pale at the new development, and got very worried. If a grown man, who had years of training and more than a decade of experience at fighting, was worried, then I sure as heck was.

Derek pulled out two more pokeballs and said in a low voice as to not let the man hear, "I'll keep him busy here. The password to the truck is 62442. You two are going to run. Go to the truck and drive to the nearest safe place that isn't family or a close friend's house. They might find out who you're close to and find you. Avoid using cell phones unless you have no other option."

He tossed a key at me and I caught it, memorizing the code at the same time.

"On my command, get the heck out of here. Stay safe. And. Don't. Get. Caught."

Derek took a deep breath before throwing the pokeballs and shouting, "go!"

At the word, I picked up Andrea bridal-style (ignoring the squeak my action elicited from her) and, with precise instructions from my dad's voice, initiated a string of extremespeed attacks that took us nearly a quarter of a mile past the group of Aagrons in only a few seconds. It was mildly sickening for me. I could only imagine what Andrea felt. But we held it together.

I spent a moment to put Andrea down, before we both began running full out. The trees and plant life around us went by in a blur.

"Do you think he'll be okay?"

The explosions behind us worried me a good deal. But I said, "he's trained for situations like that. He'll retreat when things become too much for him and hopefully make his way to Uncle Shade."

Andrea seemed convinced, so I didn't supply any more information on the topic and instead put my concentration on pushing my aura senses to the limit. I focused it to the area we approached and shouted, "I found the vehicles!"

I adjusted my path slightly and Andrea copied the new direction. We arrived in a clearing that had plenty of evidence that lots of people had been through it recently. Around twenty-five vehicles sat in neat rows. Much of the grass in the clearing had been flattened by the feet that had stomped it down, probably at a run to get into position.

"How do we know which vehicle that key goes to?"

I lifted up the key and hit the only button on it. A vehicle beeped down the line and I smirked before running to the door.

I muttered, "six-two-four-four-two," as I typed in the numbers on the pad next to the handle and pulled the door open. Andrea got in as I started it and we soon were tearing down a badly kept trail. The trail, as we found out, was not designed for vehicles in mind. We were flung around somewhat painfully as the truck's tires met every hole in our path.

Despite this, Andrea made no demands for me to slow down I and made no attempts to do so. It was only after making our way to the road and finding our bearings that we both began to allow our heart rates to return to a normal level along with our speed.

We were driving down a road that led to another town, away from where we lived, when Andrea said, "should we go to the police?"

I shook my head.

"No. If Uncle Shade wanted us to go to the authorities, he would have up and said it. And remember? Back at my house. People in uniforms were a part of the attack. I don't think we should trust the police for a little while. It might be Team Phoenix in disguise or something."

Andrea bit her lip and asked, "then where do we go? Derek said to not go to any of our friends or family. Who are we supposed to trust?"

I couldn't answer that. Not immediately, anyways.

"I think we should go to the Sanctuary."

Andrea blinked in surprise before looking away. She appeared to consider it for a full minute before she turned back to me and nodded.

"Hardly anyone knows that you visit there on a regular basis. It will probably be the safest place right now."

I nodded my agreement to her reasoning and turned down a road that would lead us to the Sanctuary. It got close, but we never entered any residential areas. So we didn't have to worry about anyone paying us any attention as we drove on. The heavily tinted windows were a blessing as they only allowed people to see vague shadowy shapes beyond the glass.

We parked in the spot I normally parked at and made our way up the path. Me, being paranoid as heck, extended my aura senses out all around us as we walked. I felt someone at the edge of my range and held an arm up to stop Andrea.

"Someone's coming."

Andrea took a step behind me as the person made herself known.

"Jacob? Andrea?"

I relaxed when Luna's confused voice came from the approaching form.

"Hey, Luna. Sorry, didn't see that it was you." Luna gave me a worried look, understanding that sensing someone and sensing WHO that person is went side by side unless someone was severely distracted.

"Has anything happened? You both seem worn down."

I nodded and said, "something really bad has happened. We couldn't think of anywhere else to go. Let's find Narri and Pip. Then we can explain."

Luna nodded and said, "go ahead to our house, I'll get my parents and meet you there," she then turned and began running down the path, leaving a dust trail behind her.

We followed at a more sedate pace, and after getting permission to enter from the guards at the time, made our way to their home.

* * *

I felt as though I could have done a bit better on this chapter, somehow. But nothing came to me. Still, it got what I wanted through, and hopefully did a good job with it.

How do you like Derek? He's someone who wasn't even going to have a name, but I'm starting to get some ideas that involve him. Hmm... *ponders while stroking beard*

*freaks out because I do not posses a beard*

*calms down when I wake up to find it was all just a dream*

Luna pops up from nowhere, whispers mysteriously, "or was it?"

Ahem, so... *pushes hallucination Luna out of sight* there it is... thoughts? Complaints? Suggestions? Tell me in a review, if you would be so kind.


	14. We're Going Camping

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 14

Apologies for the semi-late chapter. My reason... does Pensacon count? (It's basically Comic-Con, but is held at Pensacola Florida. It was a blast!) Did anyone here attend?

But before I end this, I need to say something I have neglected to mention in my previous chapters. The Return of the Cursed Gift has officially gotten both more reviews and more words that it's predecessor, Curse of the Lucario. I wish to thank the academy- *checks notecards* -nevermind, never attended an academy. Instead, I'll thank all you wonderful people who read the bizarre images that I transfer from my brain onto a screen :P.

Enjoy :).

Disclaimer: Do you see me rolling around in cash from Pokemon ownership? No? Didn't think so.

* * *

Chapter 14

We're Going Camping

JACOB'S POV

We were sitting at down with Narri, Pip, and Luna, who were still reeling from what we had just told them.

"Is there any way to speed up me getting that ability to sense my family again?"

Pip and Narri shook their heads in union.

"We've never heard of any way. I could ask, if you want?", Pip offered, and I accepted.

"If you have time, then please do so."

She nodded before pointing at the Aura Stone in its bracer form on my arm.

"What is that?"

I held it up and said, "I figured out that I can change the Aura Stone's shape. I just turned it into this for convenience. Cool, right?"

Pip poked it gently and said, "can you show us?"

I nodded, eager to have something to do. I concentrated and shifted the Stone into a small curved dagger that I held in a reverse grip.

Narri held his paw out and I handed it to him carefully. He waved it around and said, "it's lighter than I expected. Is everything you turn it into this light?"

"It's always lighter than the item that it's turned into. Though, despite being lighter, it's stronger than whatever I turn it into. And it's always blue. I don't mind that too much."

Narri nodded thoughtfully and swore under his breath when he barely passed a finger over the blade. A single drop of blood welled up from the spot and he handed the dagger back to me.

"Be careful, it's sharp," I said with a grin and he glared at me.

"What have you tried turning it into?", Pip asked.

"Hmm. An umbrella, bracer, stone, sword, dagger, baseball, whip, hammer, glove, crown, and a staff. I think that's all of them."

"A whip?", Luna asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, it was like a real whip. It could bend and everything. Though I figured out that I can't really use it very well." I rubbed my leg where I remembered the stinging pain from my first attempt at using the transformed Stone in its whip form.

"And have you felt anything from the Stone itself?" Pip asked and I could tell that everyone was interested by this point.

I shook my head, "nothing really. It almost feels like I'm asking some_ONE_ when I transform the Aura Stone, but I can never actually say anything to them. They just take my request, and some of my aura, and the Stone turns into the requested object."

Pip's tail drooped slightly at the news, but said, "be trying to communicate with whatever is in there, if anyone is. You'll eventually get a reaction."

I nodded before turning to Narri and getting serious.

"What do you think we should do now? With Team Phoenix after us, and the police not to be trusted, should we try to hide here until Uncle Shade can find us?"

Narri looked down for a moment, thinking.

"I think you should leave the moment you can use your sensing ability," Luna blurted out and Narri nodded a moment later.

"I believe that she is right. You can't be flown or teleported anywhere, so it would be for the best if you made your way in the direction of Jason. That way, when Shade finds you, he can just take you the rest of the way."

Pip agreed a moment later and it was settled. Well, there was one other thing.

I turned to Andrea and said, "Andrea. I want you to stay here-"

"Not a chance in-"

"But this will be extremely dange-"

"I'm still coming!"

I opened my mouth to argue further, when Narri's paw landed on my shoulder and he said, via aura, "Jacob, when a female has made her mind up about something, It's best to roll over and let her have her way at the moment. She isn't going to back down with this. I suggest you accept it."

I sighed and nodded.

"Fine. We'll talk about it later."

Andrea nodded slowly and dropped it.

There was a moment of silence before Pip asked, "has Andrea learned aura sphere yet? Or how to use her aura in different ways?"

Andrea shook her head.

"Are you offering to teach me?"

Pip nodded with a smile and said, "yeah, let's let the males have some fun blowing things up while we hone our skills on the finer uses of aura."

I opened my mouth to speak against her back-handed comment at us, when Narri shut me up my stomping on my foot quite painfully without anyone else noticing.

"C'mon," he grabbed my arm and yanked, "we can go practice," his grip on my arm left no room for me to protest and I followed with a backwards wave to the the girls who stayed behind.

"Lucky," Luna's voice grumbled to me, "I wanna blow stuff up."

I gave nothing away as I said, "sorry. Please help Andrea, would you?"

"You already owe me a favor!"

"Nuh uh. I'm calling in the favor of agreeing to bring you to school when Pokemon were necessary during my class."

"But we never will get to do that."

"Tough. The agreement still holds. Thus, we are even."

"... fair enough."

She cut the connection and Narri said, "Luna wanted to come with?"

He had picked up on my outward silence being an indication to my speaking via aura and judged the reason why perfectly.

"Yup. I asked her to help Andrea out."

He smiled and said, "let's get to somewhere secluded. You can train using the Aura Stone for awhile."

I nodded in agreement and he led me to an area where he then subjected me to what he considered "training". *shiver*

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

The sound of polite knocking had me moving before my mind was even awake from the sleep I was enjoying moments before. I tossed on a plain T-shirt and opened the door with a, "yes?"

As expected, an envelope was extended to me from a face that I vaguely recognized from other times I had been woken up. I took the offered package with a nod and closed the door without another word. None were necessary.

I flipped on a few lights and sat at the tiny table that fit the proportions of the apartment I lived in. I cut open the package and read the contents as my mind woke up fully.

Having read everything, I put the paper down and sighed lightly. I scratched the constant stubble that refused to be fully tamed on my chin as I let my hand hang. A familiar feel of fur connected with my hand and I began scratching the back of my Ninetales head on instinct. She loved it when I scratched in the right spot.

"Looks like they wanted me moving ten minutes ago. I should be getting a call soon. Where did I put my phone?"

I stopped the scratching and Ninetales pointed her head at the table next to the couch and I remembered, I had put it there last night.

"Thanks. Go get some rest. I'll debrief all of you later."

She nodded and padded back to the spot he had been lying at before.

I re-read the specs, "For: Julius. Designation: Utmost Importance. Assignment: The locating of one Jacob Simmons and one Andrea Stone. Further information will be provided en route. Driver will arrive at 2:30 AM in front of building."

I glanced at a nearby clock. It read 2:15.

"Thanks for the big heads up," I muttered as I got ready.

I tossed on my dark green cargo pants and donned my black fingerless gloves like I had done so many times before. I put on my black running shoes, with foam soles for comfort. Lastly, I held up my jacket and stared at the back of it. Specifically, at the symbol I had sown myself a long time ago.

Many people, if they saw it, wouldn't have a clue what it stood for. But I knew. I had it inverted and sown on the back of it on purpose to make sure that I would never forget it.

It may have been reversed, but hold it up in a mirror, and the Team Styx symbol becomes glaringly obvious.

My phone's ringtone, Counterfeits &amp; Lies, was cut off as I picked up the call and grumbled, "I'm coming. Just a minute."

I grabbed what I needed and headed downstairs; dialing a number on my way down.

A tired voice answered on the other end, "helllloooo-," the word slipped off into a yawn and I waited until it stopped before speaking again.

"We're on the clock right now, Cassius. Remember the aliases this time, we don't need another mess up. I need you to be ready soon. So get ready and be waiting for me to get there." A muttered reply was given before he hung up and I knew that he would most likely be attempting to put his arms through his pants legs before he truly woke up. He enjoyed being woken up incredibly early about as much as I did.

I went outside of the building and located the vehicle immediately. Upon entering, the shadowed figure said, "here is the necessary information. Contact us only if the mission is successful. Do not draw attention to yourself. This is all. Teleport."

The figure vanished along with a small Pokemon I hadn't noticed before and I grabbed the locked suitcase that was left behind.

I tapped the heavily tinted window separating the driver from me and opened the suitcase as the vehicle began to move.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

"Who-", I wheezed, "calls this," wheeze, "training?"

Narri looked down at my grounded form and said, "did I go too fast? You want to slow down for the next part?"

**NEXT PART!?**

"I think he's had enough, dad," what sounded like the voice of the angels, not that I would ever tell her that, came from behind Narri and he turned to see Luna walking up.

"Hey Luna. Andrea making any progress?"

"A little, yeah. Is Jacob okay?"

I raised my arm and wheezed in her general direction.

Narri waved a dismissive paw in my direction.

"He's _fine_."

**I'm dying!**

"You have no clue how draining the Aura Stone is," I said to the both of them via aura as I sat up, still breathing heavily.

"Where is it, anyways?" Luna looked at the general area and didn't see it. She wouldn't be able to.

"Oh, Jacob figured out a neat trick with it," he looked at me expectantly and I rolled my eyes.

I held my paw up a few feet from the ground and thought furiously for a moment.

If someone was watching for it, and had very good eyes, they would have seen how the Aura Stone practically slithered at the speed of light from somewhere in the trees and reformed itself back in its bracer shape on my arm. This all happened in mere moments.

Luna didn't speak for a moment, but soon said, "care to explain?"

I waved at Narri and let myself lay flat on the ground. I was going to milk this break for all its worth.

"We were training on him changing the shape of the Aura Stone and then using whatever he changed it into moments after. I knocked it out of his paws several times with my bone rush. One time, Jacob threw his arms up in exasperation and it was back on him in a second. After that, I tried throwing it as far as I could and he brought it back to him each time, regardless of distance."

I joined in then, still using aura to communicate.

"It's not that hard. I just think about it and it comes. It's when I call it to me and try to change it part of the way to my paw that wore me out so much. It takes even more aura to change it when it's not in my paw than otherwise. More concentration too."

Luna grinned at me and said, "you know that mom is going to want to see this in action."

I used some precious oxygen to groan, "knock me out. It would be a mercy."

Luna chuckled and held out a paw to help me to my feet.

"Mom sent me to come bring both of you home. C'mon."

I shambled a little ways behind them and noticed that them both seem amused at something.

"Something funny?"

"Oh, nothing. Let's get you home. You look like crap."

"Thanks for the love, Luna."

She was right. I had a healthy coating of dirt over my fur and my tail was a hairdresser's nightmare with the tangles held in it.

She grinned and said, "you can visit the hot springs later and clean up."

I perked up slightly at the mention of the hot springs and agreed, but then got serious and asked Luna, "anything new come up?"

Luna shook her head.

"It's only been a few hours. Give it time," Narri advised me with a pat on my back.

I set the matter aside and we walked home. We all journeyed to the hot springs and relaxed for awhile before heading back to their home and settling down for the night.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

I opened the door with the key he, Cassius (since we were on a mission), had given me after I was officially assigned to be his partner. I was the only one who could handle his... quirks. Because of this, we were always partners together on missions.

The door opened a quarter of the way before being stopped by a soft obstacle and I leaned in to see what was stopping it. Knowing how OCD he sometimes is, I would have been surprised to find a pillow laying in the doors way.

It was Cassius. He was curled up, much like a feline, in front of the door and fast asleep.

I rolled my eyes and poked him, saying, "c'mon. Let's go." I was silently grateful that he was fully dressed, but we really needed to get moving.

His arms, covered with black fur, twitched and he swatted at me with claws that could have ruined my day if I hadn't moved out of their path.

I had dealt with this before, and knew what to do. I pulled out a package, opened it, and waved it in front of his nose.

The smell of chocolate threw his eyes open and I pulled the candy out of his reach before he could snatch it.

"Do you have everything?"

"Yes! Now give me it!"

I tossed him the candy and it was gone in moments. (He only ever acted this childish with candy after just waking up.) He rubbed his face, which resembled the DNA of the Mightyena that had been used on him.

Long story short, he screwed up bad on a mission and Team Styx decided to experiment on him. Thanks to that, he had the eyes, ears, tail, and facial markings of a Mightyena. His jet black hair was almost like a mantle on his head and was eternally messy. He was wearing his usual attire: a loud Hawaiian shirt with black pants and teal colored shoes.

"Let's get going. You know how much they hate wasting time. I'll fill you in on the details on the way over."

He nodded with a yawn and we exited his home, locking his door behind us, and went to the waiting vehicle.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

A loud banging from the door woke us up and I opened the door just as Narri and Pip came out of their room.

A flustered Riolu, who was breathing heavily, said, "several humans have attacked the border guards and got two of the Lucario there!"

We were all wide awake then.

"Where are they now?", Narri stepped forward and asked.

"The Uncapturables are fighting them now, but aren't doing very well."

We began moving immediately, the Riolu led us.

Andrea ran beside me and asked, "who are the Uncapturables?"

"My dad offered to capture a small group of Lucario in pokeballs and have them held in the bank. That way, they can fight trainers and poachers without being worried of capture. It took him a few years, but he gained enough trust that they allowed him to capture fifteen Lucario. They are the ones who are dealing with the attackers now."

Luna spoke up, "we also let Jacob's dad put us in pokeballs. So we should all be save from capture."

I nodded my agreement and we all ran a little faster at the sounds of battle coming from ahead.

We tore into the area where the guards normally stood and and stopped just short of getting roasted by a flamethrower attack.

There were fifteen people wearing the same black clothes as the ones that Team Phoenix wore scattered around the clearing, shouting various commands.

"Pip! Which one has the two captured Lucario?"

It was incredibly difficult to pick out aura signatures in pokeballs, especially with so much activity around. I doubted any of us, save Pip, could pick them out.

Pip closed her eyes and pointed after a few seconds.

"The one just left of the middle-"

"Got it!" I sprinted forward, heedless of their combined demands to come back. In any other place, I might not have acted so rashly. But it was my father's job to protect the Sanctuary and I had the responsibility as well.

I jumped over a downed Torterra and used the moment in the air to turn the Aura Stone into a short sword. The drain caused me to land awkwardly, but I dodged the attempted scorching by a fire type and moved past it, determined to get to my target. Several thrown pokeballs missed their marks as I went by and I cut one into scrap when I couldn't dodge it.

My target, a man who looked to be in his thirties, noticed my fixation on him, and grinned!

I growled and pushed myself even faster. The man commanded his Empoleon, but I used extremespeed to get past the water type and swung at the man.

Only incredible reflexes saved his arm from near dismemberment. He moved back and took out a knife big enough to practically be a short sword itself.

"Goodie, I get another to break," he tapped two shrunken pokeballs on his belt and said, "let's see if you can get your buddies back."

The red descended. I threw myself forward and swung my sword at his shoulder. He blocked it and punched me right next to my chest spike, sending me back a few feet.

"Hydro pump!"

My eyes widened when I realized that I had forgot the other combatant. Highly pressurized water blasted me in the side, sending me across the battlefield and crashing into a tree.

I'm not afraid to admit it. I was down for a good while after that. If the man wasn't so busy fending off other attacks, he could have taken me down. Maybe not capture me, but taken me down and taken my body anyways. I felt the absence of the Aura Stone in my paw and forced myself to my feet by using the tree to stabilize myself.

I looked across the battlefield and saw the man pick up the Aura Stone, still in its sword form.

I clenched my teeth and willed the Stone to wrap itself around the man's hands.

The drain that forced me back to the ground was worth it as the Stone melted and covered itself around both of the man's hands. I grinned when a Lucario smashed a bone rush into his head and grabbed the two pokeballs off his fallen form.

"Jacob!"

I looked and saw Luna and Andrea running towards me.

Luna threw something at me and I caught it without thinking.

"Eat that and let's go! Mom said that there's more incoming and that we need to get out of here!"

I had swallowed the berry before she had started the sentence and was ready to go when she finished.

"What about-," I started.

"They called for help with the phone your father left! Now let's go!"

At Andrea's insistent voice, I looked back at the battlefield and turned away after a moment to follow Luna. We ran as fast as possible through the deserted village. All non-combat ready Pokemon had been evacuated to different hidden locations. Thanks to this, we could hear the impacts of our sprint as we ran.

"My parents packed some stuff for us back home. Let's grab that then get going," Luna said this in a calm tone, but I could tell that she was very afraid.

"Don't worry about everyone. They've all dealt with trainers before," I said to Luna via aura.

While that was the truth, none of them had fought an actual criminal organization that outnumbered them.

Luna grunted at me and slowed down as we got close to her house. She bolted in and was out with three backpacks before the door could fully open.

"Where did your dad's signature come from when you used the ability the first time?"

I took a moment to think before pointing in the general direction the dot had indicated the first few times I had tried it. It was opposite of where we lived and went even deeper into the Sanctuary.

Luna nodded and put a backpack on after giving us one each.

We stood there for a moment and I said, "c'mon. Let's move." We turned our backs to the village and began running at a pace that we could manage for a long period of time. And run we did.

* * *

DANIEl'S POV

My phone let out a few notes before I answered it and said, "Julius here."

"They've begun their assault on the Sanctuary. You are to fly in and assist when needed as well as look for your targets. Our Intel points towards them being in that area. Understood."

"Got it. Cassius is setting up shop and will feed information as needed."

"Remember, attract no attention. If you do, you're on your own."

"Understood. Out."

I ended the call and shouted, "do you have it set up yet?"

A loud bang came from the back room and a dim blue light appeared from the crack underneath the door.

"Got it! Sending directions to you now."

"Make sure they're aerial this time! I don't want to have to follow the roads again."

I could feel Cassius rolling his eyes.

"That was one time! They should be coming now."

I lifted my arm and found a map of the region on the small screen of the device I had on my arm.

"Headed out. Keep me updated on orders!"

"Alright, alright. No need to shout."

I rolled my eyes and walked outside, pulling out a pokeball as I did so.

"Honchkrow, we've got some work to do," I climbed on, careful to not mess up any of his special purple feathers, and pointed in one direction, "we need to go that way and assist our forces."

He gave an affirmative, "krow," before taking off in the direction I indicated.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

We were all breathing hard by the time we stopped at a stream and called a quick break. We had been running for a good three hours with only a break to relieve ourselves and drink something.

Luna tossed her pack off and fell flat on the ground, her chest rising and falling with each breath. Andrea went closer to the water and fell next to that after gulping a few mouthfuls down.

I sat and, while catching my breath, checked to see what all they had packed for us in the backpack I carried.

"Look what I found," I held up some canteens that sat at the top of the bags, "these will come in handy."

Andrea took a disinterested look at them before closing her eyes and rested. Luna didn't even bother to look, she had fallen asleep if her slow breathing was any indication.

I filled up the three canteens and stored them back in my pack after seeing what else was in there.

Mine held: food, a map, a fire starting kit, and a sleeping bag along with a few other items.

"They forgot to put Antidotes in there," my dad's voice murmured sleepily. It had been awhile since I heard him in my head.

"Are you alright?"

"I only put my aura into you with the intent for it to last... not very long... I'll need to conserve what little of me can remain behind so as to go back into the original. So only try to talk to me when you really need to."

I felt a sharp stinging in my eyes at his words and was glad my mental voice wasn't affected by the blockage I felt in my throat.

"Okay. Goodbye."

He didn't respond and I looked up to see Luna sitting up and staring at me with a concerned look.

"Everything okay?" She probably had sensed my emotions and woke up as a response.

"I'm fine. Andrea," I caught her attention and she sat up, "let's eat something while I fill you in."

I got a few protein bars that were Pokemon friendly and tossed them to the two of them.

I used aura to speak while I ate, "my dad spoke to me again. He said that he won't be able to talk to me anymore unless it's an emergency. Something about the aura holding him in my mind running out."

Andrea scooted over to me and asked, "are you alright?" She must have picked up on my melancholy mood. Heck, with how my tail and ears were drooping, a non-Pokemon expert could have picked up on that.

I nodded, "It just feels like I'm losing him even more when I can't talk to him when I want. But I'll be alright. Let's just keep moving."

Andrea nodded and finished her bar.

"What happened to the Aura Stone?", Luna asked and I blinked.

"Just a minute." I held up my paw and concentrated. I felt the "connection" with the Stone and it took it almost a full thirty seconds before it appeared back in its bracer shape on my arm.

Luna whistled and grinned, "I wish I could do that with some things."

I snorted, "that's cause you're lazy. By the way, what all is in your packs?" I directed the question to the two of them and they opened them up.

Luna spoke first, "I've got: a sleeping bag, a compass, some medicine, and some Poke."

Andrea spoke up when Luna stopped, "I've got: a sleeping bag, a bagful of berries (slightly squished), and- what is this?" Andrea pulled out a familiar looking object and Luna began pouring of waves of embarrassment.

I snorted and said, "that's Ri. Luna's-"

"It's just a stuffed Pokemon!" Luna crossed her arms and turned away from the toy Mareep like it offended her.

I grinned and narrowed my aura to Andrea, "she used to not be able to sleep at night without it."

Andrea smiled a little before putting the fluffy toy back into her bag.

We spent a half hour recovering before standing and putting our backpacks back on.

"Why don't you try using that ability to find your dad?" Andrea suggested and I shrugged.

"Sure. Maybe it's recovered by now."

I raised my paw and focused. The misty ball appeared but had slashes of the sphere cut out and small slivers of red covered a few places. It also appeared to flicker like a glitch in a computer filled with viruses.

I lowered my paw and said, "I'll try it tonight and tomorrow morning. It probably will be working then." The "I hope", I wanted to say was left unspoken.

"Which was should we head now? We really shouldn't head in one direction," Andrea said and we both looked at her with curiosity.

"If they pick up on our trail and figure out we're going in a straight line, they could send people far ahead and have them box us in."

Luna's surprised look told me that she hadn't considered the idea either.

"Nice thinking," I complimented, "let's travel in that direction," I pointed at a point that was almost 45° to the right of where we had been going.

Andrea nodded and said, "I'm okay with that. Any complaints?"

Luna got a thoughtful look and said, "that way leads us out of the Sanctuary faster."

"So?"

She glared at me and said, "nothing. Just thought I would note that. Let's go. We should make the edge by late afternoon if we take a few breaks to eat and rest."

She turned the way we had agreed on and began walking. By luck, we found a rough path that had been made by Pokemon and followed it at a jogging pace. We experienced very few Pokemon as we went. Most would get away at the sound of our non-too-stealthy approach and others would just watch us carefully as we went by.

The day went by in relative silence. None of us really were in the mood for conversation. We decided to make camp in a small cave that looked deserted when the sky began to lose light.

I heard a cry of frustration and looked over to Andrea, who was struggling to light a small pile of sticks and leaves with the flint that we had.

"Why could we have turned into something that knows how to do fire type moves?" Andrea grumbled.

I moved over to her and said, "well, Lucario do know blaze kick. But I'm pretty sure that would only incinerate that pile instead of light it. And I don't know it, what about you, Luna?"

She shook her head and said, "I wonder if the Aura Stone could turn into a lighter?"

"I doubt it. I'm pretty sure it can only turn into things that are somewhat simple."

She shrugged and went back out to get more wood.

"Here," I knelt next to her and created a little hallow in the pile, "try it right there."

She struck it again and the was rewarded when a leaf began burning.

"Nice," I complimented her and she nodded while coaxing the flame to another leaf.

I walked outside and looked up to see a dark ceiling of clouds blanketing the sky as far as I could see.

"Hope it doesn't rain tomorrow," Luna commented as she walked up to me with wood held in her arms.

"Need any help?"

"We just need a little more. Just enough to get us through the night. Did she manage to get the fire going?"

"Yup."

Luna nodded with a smile and walked into the cave as I went into the surrounding area and grabbed an armful of wood and some leaves.

As I was bending over to grab another piece, the sound of leaves crackling nearby had me freeze in place.

I listened carefully, being careful to take low breaths. Whatever it was, it stopped moving. Maybe I imagined it?

I relaxed after not hearing anything for a full minute and stood up.

"**Hello!**" I threw my the wood up in the air in shock, let out a yelp as my heart ceased beating, and I jumped violently, all at once.

I turned and saw a grinning face looking back at me.

It was just a Luxio.

I fell to the ground in relief and gasped, "you really shouldn't sneak up on people."

The Luxio giggled and I felt a strange sense that I knew him.

"Have we met before?"

He nodded and said, "yeah, the last time we met, my mom nearly tore out your throat."

I looked at him a little more closely. He wasn't the Luxio that had taken Shinx right out of my hands, that only left-

"You're that Shinx I brought home, aren't you!"

His face lit up and he said, "yup."

I smiled and sat up.

"I see you managed to evolve. When did that happen?"

He sat and made himself comfortable.

"About a week ago. What are you doing this far out?"

"I could ask you the same," I snorted, "I remember what happened last time."

He rolled his eyes and said, "after I evolved, my mom gave me permission to explore on my own. I just happened to be in the area when I smelled you. And here we are."

I accepted his explanation with a nod. It wasn't hard to accept. Many Pokemon parents only let their young leave the "nest" and explore after they evolved or got so strong.

"So why are you here? Someone get really lost?"

I shook my head and frowned a little. He picked up on my new mood and stopped smiling.

"We had to run from the village. There's an organization after Andrea and me and they have my dad. We're traveling on our own, looking for him."

He now had a wide-eyed look as he asked, "why don't you contact the authorities? Surely they could help protect you?"

I explained how we couldn't trust really anyone we didn't know right then.

"You remember that favor your mom said she owes me?"

He nodded grimly, "I do. What about it?" The Luxray evolutionary line took promises and debts seriously.

"It's nothing too big. I just want, if anybody comes looking for us, can you tell them that we went that way," I pointed in a direction and continued, "that's the opposite way we're heading. It might throw any trackers off our trail. But be careful, some of them may try to catch you."

Luxio nodded.

"I will tell my mom. She'll spread the word to make sure everyone knows what to say if asked. Anything else?"

"No. Just take care of yourself," I stood and gathered the scattered sticks.

"Be careful. Good luck with finding your dad."

I nodded gratefully and heard his footsteps retreating from where I stood.

Once I had everything, I turned and jumped violently when a face filled my vision and proclaimed, "**Boo**!"

The sticks fell out of my arms when I threw my paws forward and knocked the face back.

I realized that I dropped the sticks, yet again, and shouted, "Luna!"

My scream seemed to be the catalyst that the weather was waiting for as a light rain began falling and we ran back to the cave. One of us was giggling, the other was cursing lightly at the giggling one. Need I clarify who was doing what?

* * *

And there it is. Please thank Insomniac98338 for his wonderful OC, Daniel. He provided me with plenty of wonderful details about him and I hope you all enjoy his addition to the story. (This is the visible result of suggestions given and requests made, so don't be shy in putting them forward.)

I'm going to start doing something from now on. I've seen several authors on this site do it, and like to participate in them personally. Question and Answer. Please respond via review, if you would.

**Question: **if you could have any skill/move/trait/etc of any kind of Pokemon in real life, what would you choose? And why?


	15. On The Run

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 15

And here's the next chapter. My internet has been acting wonky recently and I've been trying to post it for the past two days.

That aside, my NJROTC unit attended the Area 8 Championship Meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana recently and we got 7th out of 15 overall! :D. We went against some of the known BEST JROTC units in the country and managed to do pretty dang good despite being mostly outclassed. One of our girls actually managed, out of every girl there, to get 1st place in sit-ups! She beat 2nd place out by almost 20 sit-ups! (She's still sore from it :P)

Alas, we won no trophies. But it was fun.

And with that out of the way, please enjoy. :)

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own Pokemon.

*Space-time fractures and a familiar looking Lucario head pokes his out of a veil that appears*

Jacob: But he owns me and all other stuff he came up with! Just thought I aught to add that. Wow. Your room is really- Hey!

*shoves him back through the veil*

Me: Get back in there! Things are about to get interesting!

*veil closes*

Me: Hehe. Sorry about that. Proceed.

* * *

Chapter 15

On the Run

JACOB'S POV

We made it back into the cave right before the sky truly opened up. Andrea had gotten the fire stoked and it was burning merrily, if a bit on the small side. This dried our slightly damp fur in no time. We ate some berries that we had collected on our way there and got out our sleeping bags.

Before we went to sleep though, Luna raised an issue.

"Should we keep watch? Just in case they find us during the night."

I frowned and said, "Let me try something before we decide on that."

I moved to the mouth of the cave and looked at how big it was. I nodded to myself and put my arms forward and concentrated.

The Aura Stone took an enormous chunk of my aura, but succeeded in what I wanted. It slipped off of my arm and began making a thin wall that would seal the entrance of the cave. By the time it finished, only a little of the ceiling was still open to the outside, for letting the smoke out and air circulate.

When it finished, I collapsed and groaned loudly.

They rushed over and Andrea asked, "Nice job, but next time, let's just have watches, okay?"

My mind was too muddled to respond via aura or regular voice, so I did a sort of drunken head bobble. They got the message.

Luna rolled her eyes and said, "C'mon, he's not going to be able to move until tomorrow. He used way too much aura and needs to sleep it off. He should be fine when he wakes up."

Her paws grabbed my arms and Andrea took my legs. My tail dragged the ground as they carried me over to my sleeping bag and forced my limp form into it. Once they got me in a comfortable position they got in their own sleeping bags and slipped off to sleep. It took me awhile, but I eventually did the same.

NEXT MORNING

* * *

My eyes creaked opened and I blinked several times when I saw that my vision was blocked by a brown, cylinder-like, thing. Then, it moved.

My eyes shot open and I saw two eyes staring right into mine.

"Ahh!" I yelled and squirmed away as well as I could while hindered by my sleeping bag.

Luna and Andrea both jerked at the sound and sat up to stare at me.

I stopped when my back was to the cave wall and I said, "Don't you know it's rude to stare at someone when they're sleeping!"

The Diglett got an annoyed look and said in a indignant tone, "Well it's rude to stay in someone's cave without asking permission first. So, I believe we are even."

I blinked and rubbed my head sheepishly.

"Sorry. We didn't realize anyone was living here." We had taken a cursory look, but could find no trace of anyone living there. We must have missed something.

He thought for a moment before saying, "It's no problem. You will be leaving soon though, right?"

He directed the question at Andrea and she nodded.

"I thought Diglett lived underground?" Luna questioned and the Diglett glared at her, I felt his mood suddenly shift.

"I've changed my mind. Please leave."

We all blinked in surprise at the sudden hostile mood and I started to protest.

I didn't because a horde of Dugtrio and Diglett suddenly popped up from all around us, all glaring.

I paled slightly and said to Luna and Andrea, "You two pack up the stuff. I'll roll up the sleeping bags."

They didn't protest and we grabbed and packed everything under the stares of the many ground types. I had the Aura Stone reattach itself to my arm in bracer form and we left the cave.

When we were far away enough I hissed to Luna, "Don't question a Pokemon's life choices!"

Luna recoiled then glared at me and said, "Well how was I supposed to know he was sensitive about it! It's true! Most Diglett do live underground 90% of the time."

I waved my paw and tried to push away the irritation I felt, only to step into a deep puddle and get most of my leg soaking wet.

I twitched and sighed. "Today isn't going to be a good day. I can already tell."

Andrea patted my back and held out some berries, which I took and started eating as we walked, carefully watching for puddles. The air was filled with humidity and everything looked and felt damp, our fur included.

"Try the tracking thing again," Andrea suggested after we walked for awhile.

We stopped and I raised my paw. Like it was supposed to, the misty ball appeared and had a single pinprick of red on its surface. I looked at it and compared it to the direction we had been heading in the first place. Because there was only one dot, I assumed they must have my mom and dad held together.

I let the technique fade and announced, "We're going the right way."

All of us felt a little relief at that. We all had been afraid of the possibility that we were going the wrong way. With this discovery, we were all a little upbeat.

We began walking again at a slightly faster pace and found ourselves at the edge of the Sanctuary. The boundary was marked by a high chain-link fence that stretched through the middle of some woods. I could see several signs that cautioned and warned people against going beyond the fence, as they would face criminal prosecution- yadda yadda.

It made me feel a bit guilty, but I used a transformed Aura Stone to snip an opening wide enough for us to slip through. I only cut what was necessary and made a mental note to tell my dad about it so he could get it fixed.

Once we were on the other side, I took out the map and we confirmed where we were. I used the technique again to check with the map and we determined the direction we would take.

"Wait," Luna stopped me before I put away the map, "You want to go near a city?"

I nodded.

"Are you crazy! Even if they figure out that we can't be caught, poachers will still come after Andrea the moment they see her unique fur!"

I waved my paws for her to calm down and said, "That's why we're going to be taking a roundabout way. My dad brought me around that area years ago and no one goes in that area unless they want to train against weaker Pokemon. So, even if we encounter people, they should only have weak Pokemon. And, if need be, we can just run. Unless you're training yourself to break a world record, no one can keep up with a Lucario at a dead run for long periods of time."

Luna nodded slowly after hearing my reasoning and said, "Fine. But I still say we take precautions."

"Such as?" Andrea asks.

She held up one finger, "First: we travel by night when we're close to it," up goes another finger, "Second: we never separate for more than five minutes at any one time," her final finger went up, "Third: If any poachers do come after us, we do not rest until we are in complete safety or they are knocked unconscious."

I looked at Andrea and she nodded.

"That sounds good," we agreed to her suggestions and Luna lowered her paw.

I stored the map back in my bag and we began walking again. We soon exited the woods and found a winding road that cut through the woods. We stayed back, out of sight, until no one was coming and crossed quickly to the cover of the trees on the other side.

We kept up a steady stream of meaningless conversation as we walked, listening intently for anybody as we walked and doing random checks via aura to be sure. Andrea practiced using her aura sight very often and it was during one of these times that she stiffened and snatched the both of us behind a cluster of trees.

Luna and I used our own aura sights and found the problem. Two people, both around their twenties, were walking nearby.

I opened a three-way connection with aura between Luna, Andrea and myself.

"Luna, can you tell if they're trainers?"

"Give me a moment." She fell silent before announcing, "If they are, they don't have any Pokemon with them. At least, none in any pokeballs that I can tell."

I nodded and turned to Andrea.

"Do they have any pokeballs or other kind of weapons on them?" I really didn't need her help to know the answer to the question, I had already looked, I just thought it would be good practice.

Andrea closed her eyes for concentration and we waited.

She opened her eyes and announced, "No pokeballs on either of them. The guy has a pocket-knife, but that's it in regards to weapons."

I nodded with a smile and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Lets keep the mushy mushy to a minimum until we're away from them," Luna said with an amused grin.

I rolled my eyes and focused again on the two. They had stopped walking and were sitting on a fallen tree, drinking some water they had gotten out of their backpacks.

"I think if we go around to the right, we should be alright."

I agreed with Luna's suggestion along with Andrea and we carefully made our way past the two in a wide arc. With everything damp, it smothered some of the sounds that normally would be an issue. We got out of the danger zone and began walking again with one of us constantly watching via aura.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

After assisting our forces, we were given permission to continue our primary objective and wasted no time in deciding the most likely direction he would have gone and getting under way.

I called out my Houndoom when I reached the forest and she picked up a suspicious group of scents. Because they would have not gone with the bulk of the Pokemon fleeing the village, I assumed that we had the correct group. I trusted Houndoom when it came to picking up scents. There had also been two separate clothes with Jacob's and Andrea's scents on them that Houndoom had sniffed and memorized.

She led me for the most of the day and we had to stop when a light rain began. We could have kept going, but I knew that Jacob and Andrea would most likely find somewhere to rest for the night.

I recalled Houndoom back into her pokeball and found some decent shelter under a tree. I sent Cassius a message, informing him of our (very little) progress, and then attempted to get comfortable with a poncho I threw over myself to block most of the rain.

NEXT MORNING

* * *

I jolted awake from the nightmare I had been having and sighed. The rest I had gotten yesterday had been the best that I had gotten in a long time. My body had gotten used to the roughly two hours of slumber that I could get in a normal night. Four, if I was lucky. Considering I've had those nightmares almost nightly ever since-

"No," I stood up abruptly, "You're not going to think about that." Going through a Lucario-filled village had dredged up some particularly vivid memories. And not happy ones. I dragged the unwelcome thoughts back to where I stored them in my head and focused back on the present.

I let out Houndoom once I returned to the same general area we had stopped at the previous night. She sniffed about, frowned, and searched back and forth for several minutes. I frowned when Houndoom shook her head, once again failing to find their scents.

I petted her head gently.

"It's to be expected with all the rain there was last night. Only really recent scents would be lingering around. Return."

She went back into her pokeball and I turned in the general direction they had headed all of yesterday and began jogging. I stopped every few hundred yards and checked around for signs that they passed through the area. You had to have a very good eye to find the hints that nature provided.

Broken tree branches. Grass or leaves that has been pushed forcefully into the ground by a running foot. Even scrapped moss off of stone was like a glowing neon sign to careful eyes. I knew that all these marks may have been caused by other Pokemon, but instinct told me otherwise.

The thing that gave me the most trouble was the lack of shoe marks. Jacob and Andrea should have left a few, even by mistake. There were shoes that could eliminate almost all trace of passing through the area. The abundant amount of rocks and roots that broke the dirt's surface would also be good ways of hiding one's passing.

I arrived at a stream and looked around carefully.

"Bingo!" I called Houndoom out and pointed at several places that had indentations in the soil. I assumed that they had stopped to take a break next to the stream to rest and get some liquid in them. Smart.

Houndoom took several whiffs at the places and grinned.

"Got something?"

She nodded and turned and pointed at an angle slightly different than the one they had been traveling the day before.

"Looks like they have some intelligence when it comes to throwing off trackers. The reports did say the Jacob's father watched over this place. He probably taught him a few tricks. That Lucario with them probably also knows a thing or two."

Houndoom huffed in agreement and started running the way she pointed before with me trailing behind.

We traveled several more hours before encountering a Pokemon who was collecting berries and stopped when we came close with a growl.

I kept my distance and held up my hands in a peaceful gesture to the Luxio.

"I mean no harm. I'm just looking for someone- well, two people actually. Have you seen a guy with a blonde haired girl come around here recently? They probably had a Pokemon with them, another Lucario? Maybe more than one Lucario?" The tracks suggested at least two, probably three, Lucario were with them.

The look in the Pokemon's eyes told me that he knew. His eyes darted one way before pointing to the left of where I faced.

I nodded and said, "Thanks. I'll be on my way."

I turned in the direction he pointed and began running through the underbrush.

Houndoom quickly caught up with me and made a confused whine.

"I know he was lying. But it's better to make him think that I've been thrown off the trail in case he can somehow send messages to our targets using flying Pokemon or something. Return."

She went back into the pokeball and I found a nice area where there were few enough trees for what I needed.

"Staraptor," I called him out and said, "Do you think you can fly me for awhile?" I asked because he had done a large amount of work ferrying me in our last mission and had nearly collapsed before I forced him to rest. He's always had the habit of working himself to the bone. In all the years I had worked with him, he had never done any less than his absolute best at any time. Because of this, he was my go-to Pokemon when I needed plenty of muscle.

Staraptor glared at me with a look that said, "Stop asking stupid questions and get on."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Fine, but we're not going too far. Just keep your eyes out for some place that a small group can bunk down for the night."

He nodded and spread his wings as I climbed aboard. He went airborne and we were high above the ground in a minute. I got out some high quality binoculars and looked around the area. After a little while, I called Honchkrow out and asked him to help us in the search.

Ten minutes into our flight, Honchkrow came back and indicated that he found something. He led us to a cave and we landed. I returned the both of them and called Houndoom out.

"Try sniffing in that cave." The small campfire that had lost most of its heat indicated that someone had spent the night. I could make a decent guess of who had.

Houndoom spent a little while sniffing around and was smelling close to the campfire when a sudden arrival bumped into her nose and knocked her back a step.

"Diglett!" The small Pokemon seemed annoyed at us and I raised my hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Sorry, we'll be going now." We didn't have any time to waste on such little things. I indicated to Houndoom to not attack the ground type, like I could tell that she wanted to do. She snarled once at the Diglett and followed me out of the cave.

"So?" I asked her and she became focused once more. She found their scents again and we followed the trail.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

We made it to the area we were aiming for as the sun began sinking below the horizon. We found an area that we dubbed safe and rested. They both went to sleep. I pretended to, but stayed awake on purpose. After I was sure they were both asleep, I propped myself against a tree and closed my eyes to focus.

Sitting anywhere, without moving, increases almost everyone's range when it came to aura sight. I kept my sight roving over the large swath of forest we were resting. I forced myself to ignore the Pokemon life I detected and tried to pick up on human signatures. There was one, an older aura, at the edge of my range. Probably some elderly person taking an evening stroll.

After two hours had passed, I woke Andrea and Luna with gentle shakes.

Andrea rubbed her eyes and asked, "Did you even sleep?"

"A little. But I woke up a little while ago and checked around to make sure no one was nearby." I gave her the partial lie. She didn't have to know. I felt fine. I could hold out for however long and just sleep when morning came. That was the plan, anyways.

Andrea nodded slowly, stood, and stretched a little.

I jumped as Luna shot up and exclaimed, "Grab everything and let's go!"

We hadn't got out the sleeping bags and just had found some soft grass, so we just tossed on our packs and began running.

"What did you see?" I asked, spreading my own senses so I would not stumble on the many tree roots that seemed to stretch out for unwary feet.

"A group of at least ten to fifteen people appeared at the edge of my aura sight when I checked- Oh no! There's another group of seven at our right. Stop for a moment!"

We stopped and I snatched out the map. According to their positions, they had effectively boxed us in. The city was to our left while the men were spread out over a wide circular area that blocked all other directions.

I ground my teeth for a moment before shoving the flag away and saying, "I don't think we have any other choice. We'll have to cut through the city-"

"-But-"

"If you have any other ideas, I'll be glad to hear them," I said to a protesting Luna.

She thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"Then let's go. We can stick to the alleyways and hopefully lose them around there."

I took the lead and we began running for the city.

Half an hour later, Luna announced, "I think they know that we're headed for the city. Most of them are headed this way on foot."

"Any of them flying?"

"None that I can see."

I looked at the distance between the city and us and said, "We'll have enough time to lose them. C'mon!"

We vaulted over a short fence at the edge of the city and kept running upon landing. Not very many people were out walking, though the vehicle traffic was flowing steadily. No one saw us, that we could tell.

We moved to a dark alley that was out of sight of the road and hid in some shadows.

"What now? We got away from Team Phoenix, but now we're in a city full of people who wouldn't say no if three Lucario walked around them willingly. Especially with my fur color."

I sat and had to move a large piece of cloth so I could lean against the wall.

We all sat there for awhile, thinking. A wind blew and the cloth fell on my leg yet again. I kicked it away in annoyance and froze when I saw that it was quite large.

"Hey," I got their attention, "I think I have an idea." I held up the trench coat I found and began explaining my plan.

A SHORT WHILE LATER

* * *

"This is never going to work!" Andrea hissed to us.

"If nothing comes loose, I think it will actually work," Luna says as she adjusted the large hood on Andrea's head so it effectively hid all of her Pokemon features. We had gathered several clothes from the area for the sole purpose of making all of Andrea as un-Lucario-like as possible. The trench coat stayed almost an inch above the ground, so no one was going to see her legs. As long as the high collar continued to surround her face and the long sleeves hid her arms and paws properly, she should be mistaken for human.

I stepped back and looked at her. If I didn't know it was her under there, I would have probably been backing away to get out of the same alley as that mysterious and slightly ominous character. That's what we were going for.

"Ready?" Andrea had to turn her body so she could see through the narrow slit that we created between the high collar and the hood.

"I feel like I could probably withstand a bullet from a small caliber gun in this and it stinks. But yeah, I'm ready."

"Then let's go. Remember, communicate only via aura to Luna and me. That way, we can speak-"

"I know! Let's go already," Andrea's voice gave away her nervousness and I shut my mouth.

I led them onto the sidewalk and positioned myself to the right of Andrea while Luna took her left.

Anyone who saw the three of us on the sidewalk that night saw what appeared to be a mysterious person with Lucario bodyguards. We didn't encounter many people, but of those we did, only two stayed on the sidewalk to pass by us. Everybody else either crossed the semi-busy street to get out of our way or ducked into whatever shop they happened to be next to.

I felt a little bad, intimidating the people. But it was for our safety, so I swallowed my misgivings. We were standing at the edge of the sidewalk, waiting for the signal to change into a walking figure, when a girl and three others walked up to us from behind. The leading girl pointed at us with a determined expression.

"You! Person with the Lucario! I challenge you to a battle!"

"Don't react," I said to Andrea using aura and turned to the girl with an arrogant scowl that felt wrong on my face. Using aura to project to everyone in the vicinity, "My Mistress is busy. Go challenge someone _else_."

I felt Luna's aura flux and I sensed that she was projecting forced emotions toward the group. Riolu often projected their emotions on instinct when they are in trouble. Lucario could do the same with almost any emotion if they practiced. It was wonderful for unnerving someone in a battle if they didn't know how to defend against it.

The girl felt the anxiety that Luna's aura created and her pointing finger faltered. It appeared she did have some self-preservation in her.

I saw the light change and said, "Do not bother my Mistress again." We then began walking across the street and the group did not follow us.

Andrea, once we were a comfortable distance from anyone, said via aura, "Nice job there, both of you. You really nailed the 'Mean Bodyguards' look."

I resisted smiling, as someone was looking at us at the time, and responded in the same way.

"Let's try to avoid doing that too many times. We don't want someone-"

_"You!"_ We all jumped slightly and turned to see a man in a police uniform walking up from behind us with a frown.

I turned and spoke to him with a respectful tone, still using aura.

"Hello, officer. Is there a problem?"

He stopped a yard from us and said, "Several trainers just informed me that they just saw a shady character. With your appearance, I can see why they would think that. Why exactly are you bundled up like that?"

He held a causal tone, but his hand resting right next to a pokeball and not fully relaxed posture said that he was ready for conflict.

I smiled and said, "My Mistress simply enjoys her privacy. Her home country requires females to not show much skin and this type of dress is comfortable to her."

The officer paused before saying, "Very well. But why are you two," he gestured at Luna and me, "Walking with her?"

"Is it illegal for Pokemon to walk on the streets?"

"No. But it is just a little unusual."

"My Mistress is, as you can see, a little unusual. Will that be all?"

He nodded.

"Yes, that's all. Just stay out of trouble."

I nodded and we began walking away. My insides felt jittery and my paws were no doubt shaking slightly.

We did not speak until we rounded another corner, then Andrea gave an audible snort and said, "You're really good at coming up with stuff. Mistress? Really?"

I rolled my eyes and whispered back, "It's all I could come up with on short notice. At least he left us alone."

Luna patted me on the arm and said, "Nice job there. Do you think the disguise will hold long enough for us to get whatever it is I'm smelling?"

I sniffed the air and my stomach immediately demanded filling in the form of an audible grumble from the pleasant scent.

Andrea lowered her collar a little and sniffed.

Almost as one, hers and Luna's stomachs growled.

"Well," I turned in the direction of the smell, "I think we're taking a quick rest stop. It'll have to be takeout though."

Luna nodded and I assumed that Andrea did the same when her hood made a bobbing motion.

We used our noses to find the small restaurant and walked in. Due to the lateness, only a few other customers were there. It was the kind of restaurant you sat down and ate at, but I knew that most places did takeout and hoped they did the same.

"Er- hello." A waitress appeared and flinched when she saw us.

Luna stepped forward and asked via aura, "Does this place do takeout?"

The waitress blinked and nodded confirmation.

"Two Pokemon and one regular menus, please."

She passed the laminated papers to Andrea, but Luna took a hold of them and we sat at a bench by the door. Andrea had the human menu laying on her lap and secretly scanned mine, which I held close enough for her to see.

We made our choices and ordered three Pokemon meals and one that was technically for humans, but we could still eat. Upon ordering, we sat and waited.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

Houndoom led me to the edge of the Sanctuary, where I found the spot Jacob and Andrea-along with those other Lucario- must have slipped through. Something that I saw around the fence bothered me. A large area was clear of most vegetation, and due to the rain the previous night, was muddy.

When I saw that there were prints in the mud, I examined them closely. Even the best kind of anti-tracking shoes could not hide passing through mud. I found three separate Lucario tracks in the mud, but not a trace of shoe marks. Not even marks of bare feet.

I frowned and spent almost five minutes searching for shoe marks. Unless they knew some hovering trick, they would have had no other choice but to walk through some mud.

Houndoom insisted that the three tracks held Jacob, Andrea, and the other Lucario's scents. I played with the possibility that two other Lucario had simply carried them across the incriminating area. The idea was trashed when I saw that the tracks would have been much deeper for two of them if they had been carrying one teenager each. They all seemed about the same depth.

Houndoom whined after I had not moved for another five minutes and I stood.

"Something strange is going on. How can those two possibly avoid leaving ANY marks?"

I'll admit it, I was frustrated. Things weren't adding up. When I thought even further, I realized that I had found no indications of humans as we tracked them. No traces of ripped clothing, a thrown away nail that had been bit off, or even some accidentally dropped trash. I couldn't believe that two teenagers were possibly so good at hiding their passing.

I dialed the number to contact Cassius and walked as it began ringing. Houndoom led the way as we went.

"Hello?"

I raised the device to my mouth and barked, "Why wasn't I told that Jacob was some sort of protege at evading trackers?"

There was a pause from Cassius' end.

"What are you talking about?"

"Houndoom assures me that we are, for sure, tracking Jacob Simmons and Andrea Stone. But the thing is, I can't find any traces of either of them! I'm only finding traces of Lucario after Lucario. Nothing human."

Cassius paused before saying, "D- Julius. Don't you watch the news? Didn't they mention it in the briefing?"

"You know I don't watch much of anything. And weren't you listening when I explained the information on the ride over?"

"Er- mostly?"

I sighed and said in a strained voice, "Nothing in there mentioned anything that would allow them to wipe away their traces like they never were there. Just their backgrounds, ages, height, standard briefing items."

I heard some keys clicking in the background and Cassius said, "I'm sending you a file. To put it simply, that information is a few weeks out of date."

My face probably showed my confusion at that last statement. What would a few weeks do for someone? They couldn't possibly get to this level in less than a month. It took years to get near the level of proficiency that they showed.

"It's sending it now."

"Affirmative. Keep an eye out for instructions and relay them to me when you get them."

"Got it. Peace out!" He cut the connection before I could berate him on his too casual response. We were on an assignment! Such things called for special behavior.

The file appeared on my device and I signaled for Houndoom to stop. I stood in one spot, my eyes scanning the file quickly.

I read it twice, to be sure that I understood what I was reading. After finishing the second time, I called Cassius again.

"He-"

"Why wasn't I told that I_ WAS TRACKING TWO PEOPLE THAT TRANSFORMED INTO **BLOODY LUCARIO!?**"_ My voice started off calmly enough, but I was extremely annoyed that I had not been informed of such an important piece of information. Especially considering my past with... That evolutionary line.

"Maybe they forgot?"

I grit my teeth. I know that they didn't forget. My past was well known. They needed someone who was good at getting things done and didn't want the chance that I would refuse.

I disciplined my voice into a calmer tone and said, "Since we already accepted the assignment, I'll deal with it. I will inform you if anything happens."

"Affirmative." Cassius actually ended the transmission correctly, not wanting to press my ire right then.

I looked to Houndoom and said, "Sorry for doubting you."

She accepted my apology with a huff and began following the trail again. This time, things went a little faster with me knowing to not bother trying to find signs of humans.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

We paid for our takeout and stored them in our backpacks before getting back on the street again. We managed to get through the city without anyone else bothering us. After checking with our aura that no one was nearby, Andrea finally shed her disguise.

She tossed the clothes aside and said, "Finally. Clean air! It was rank in there."

I smiled and said, "They worked. That's all that matters. Eat up." I passed her the meal she ordered and we ate. It was a good thing we all had exceptional night vision. If we didn't, then the near complete darkness would have made a flashlight necessary.

Midway through the meal, Luna suggested, "Why don't you try that technique again?"

I swallowed the food I was chewing and set my stuff down. The orb, yet again, pointed in the same direction we had been traveling. Luna fished the map out of my backpack and passed it to me. I unfolded it positioned the paper between us. I created the orb and used the dim light that came from it to confirm our next destination.

"How about this way?" I made a line with my finger along the map and stopped when it got to a certain point. I didn't fail to see that the point was getting close to the sea.

They looked at my suggestion and Luna asked casually, "Why that way?"

"It's the only way that I can think of that has very few large cities near our path. There's several towns, but we could avoid those if we need to."

Andrea pointed at the map and said, "What about this way?"

I looked to where she drew a line and shook my head.

"There's several bigger cities and towns that way. And less areas with sufficient cover." I pointed at two separate areas that I knew were basically just empty fields that ran for miles. We would be exposed to anybody who even glanced in our direction.

Andrea bit her lip and seemed to have an internal argument.

"Something wrong?"

She hesitated, then said, "I- I just have this feeling. I can't really explain it. But I really think we should go the way I suggested."

I blinked and looked to Luna.

"Any objections?"

She shrugged and said, "I say we go with her gut. We'll just be extra careful."

I nodded and turned to Andrea.

"If that's what your guts are telling you, then we'll go with it."

She smiled and kissed me on the cheek.

"Thanks, Jacob."

I probably grinned like an idiot while I ate my food. That would explain why Luna would roll her eyes every time she looked over at me.

We finished the food and dumped the trash in a nearby building's dumpster. Once we were ready to go, we began walking.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

Houndoom led me across a road and through some more woods. Most of the sunlight had faded from the sky by that point, but I continued on with a flashlight in hand. We were going parallel to a nearby city when we found evidence of a large group converging on one point. At that spot, Houndoom made a ninety degree turn, directly at the city.

I looked back at the spot that some group had gathered at and muttered, "Then they were forced to go through the city. Not good." Houndoom had very little chance of finding three individual scents in a city filled with so many people and Pokemon.

I called Cassius again.

The moment he picked up, I said, "I need you to hack into a city's surveillance system and run a scan for Lucario."

He asked me which city I meant and immediately began working his magic when I answered.

I knew it would take him some time, so I returned Houndoom and called Staraptor out. I had him fly me to the city and drop me off on the top of a large building where we would not be disturbed.

I took that time to rest. I had been moving almost ever since I woke up and I was beginning to tire. I closed my eyes and forced my brain into a sleep-like state. It was the only way I could rest without being bothered by those reoccurring nightmares

I got an hour of rest before he called me back.

"What do you have for me?"

"According to several social media sources and different security cameras around the city, a mysterious figure with two Lucario wearing backpacks were spotted only an hour or two before you got there. No mentions of a shiny Lucario. That was probably the person that was all bundled up."

The news that we were close re-energised me somewhat.

"Good news. Which way did they leave the city from?"

"I'll send you a map of the city."

"Affirmative. Thank you."

"No problem. You think I can take a nap?"

I sighed away from the device and said, "Go ahead. Just turn the volume up on your communicator so you'll actually wake up this time."

I heard the faint muttering of, "I'm a heavy sleeper." I resisted rolling my eyes and ended the connection.

I waited for the map to appear on the device and found the spot marked by an obvious red arrow. My eye twitched when I saw the words, "They went this way," next to the red arrow.

I ignored the unnecessary extra and began flying on Staraptor. He dropped me off at the spot marked on the map and I returned him.

I went a little ways into the forest before calling Houndoom out. She came out, asleep.

I smiled and scratched her head. "C'mon girl. Wake up."

She grumbled and opened one tired eye towards me.

"Cassius says we're getting close. The scent should be really fresh. Only a few hours old."

She finally stood and took a minute to stretch everything before sniffing around and bounding one way. I ran after her and stopped when I stumbled over what felt like a large bundle of cloth.

I saw that a sleeve was wrapped around my leg and kicked it off. I took two steps past the seemingly inconsequential abandoned clothing when I remembered that Cassius had mentioned a mysterious character with the two Lucario. Going off my hunch, I turned around and pointed my flashlight at the area I had first stumbled onto the cloth. Sure enough, a few other pieces lay scattered about. I noticed a slight gleam on one of them and found a few strands of blonde fur.

"Houndoom!" I called her, "Come take a sniff over here!" She ran back to me and turned her nose away from the cloth. It smelled pretty bad to my nose. It must have been truly rank for her extremely sensitive nose.

"I just want you to make sure that the girl, Andrea, wore this. It would have to be her who wore it, as there were no reports of any shiny Lucario seen."

She reluctantly gave it a few whiffs and nodded. I dropped the cloth, satisfied that I had my answer. I took a few steps away from it before Houndoom sent out a small flamethrower and torched the fabric.

Once all the cloth that offended her sense of smell was gone, she huffed and started walking away like nothing happened.

"Was that really necessary?"

She huffed and I could practically hear her, "Abso-flipping-lutely."

* * *

And that's it! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Daniel is fast becoming a fun character to write for. (I enjoy having to put myself in the mindset of a tracker who hasn't been given enough information on his targets. It's new terrain for me.)

Next chapter might start off in the POV of an OC that was submitted awhile ago that I'm excited to introduce to the story. (Not sure yet, but possibly.) Please thank Insomniac98338 for Daniel and Cassius, as Julius/Daniel and Cassius/? is his creation and has helped this story so much.

**Answer:** I would have one of two things. Either the abilities to manipulate and use aura from Lucario. Or I would have the telekinetic abilities of Mewtwo. Some of the answers you all gave were intriguing. Thanks for the review :).

**Question:** What country are you from/live in? (Just the country, mind you. I don't want nor need to know anything specific.) (I plan to count up all the members and see how many from each country has stuck with my story up to now.)

Also, anyone here attend/had a school attend the Area 8 Championship Meet?

(Last note, just hit 8600 views :D).


	16. Daniel Catches Up

Return of the Cursed Gift chap 16

Today is an incredibly important, stupendous, and overall awesome day! Why? Cause today marks exactly **one year** since I've joined this site! As an added bonus, this chapter will break the 100,000 word mark for Return of the Cursed Gift! Sorry that this chapter is a bit short, but I really wanted it to be out on this day. I'll make up for it with a longer chapter next time.

With that aside, I plan to introduce an important OC right off the bat. Please thank Freak4Lucario for giving me this awesome OC to work with and check out his profile to see Leon's full background story.

With that aside. Please enjoy :).

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. I don't own Daniel or Leon. I do, however, own the plot of this story and all OCs of my creation. (Suck it, Nintendo!)

* * *

Chapter 16

Daniel catches up

LEON'S POV

My breath heaved as I scrambled around a large tree and crashed through another bush.

"I saw it head this way!" The male trainer called out to the other trainers who had been chasing me for a long time.

The voice wasn't too far behind me. I had tried warding him off with some well placed aura spheres, but he really was determined to add a Riolu to his team. If he knew my real coloring, I knew he wouldn't stop until I knocked both his Pokemon and him out. Thankfully, he only saw what I wanted him to see. A normal, blue, Riolu.

I gripped the red armband on my right bicep, or more specifically, I grabbed the small stone engraved into it.

Making a sharp turn, I ran for a little ways until I saw a large rock next to an inconspicuous tree. I jogged the last steps to the rock and sat down next to it with my back against the tree.

Like so many times before, I gripped the stone and concentrated. I hardly felt the drain as I began being surrounded by a blue mist that quickly changed into a light grey color. From the inside, it looked as though I was simply in a screened in area. I could see through the mild distortion to the outside. From anyone looking at me, it looked as though there were now two rocks next to the tree instead of just one. Once I saw that everything seemed solid, I let go of the stone and waited.

The trainer came running out of the bushes, and ran right past the tree that I hid next to. I held my breath when he stopped, and let it go slowly when he ran after the sound of a bush rustling.

The sounds of other trainers scrambling about made my choice of whether to rest or get out of there an easy one. I made myself comfortable and forced myself to relax.

A few minutes passed with no one coming near the tree I hid. Some time later, two trainers, a guy and a girl, walked past the tree.

The guy groaned, "Can't we rest? I think that little guy is long gone."

He sat on the real rock that I was resting next to and I tensed.

He gestured to the "rock" that was to the left of him.

"C'mon. Take a load off. We can eat some lunch."

She rolled her eyes and sighed before walking towards the tree.

I began panicking and prepared to dart under her legs the moment she began to sit. If either of them touched the "rock" that they saw, they wouldn't feel anything. If they reached down through the illusion, they would touch me with no issue.

At the last moment, she stopped and looked beyond the tree and her face lit up.

"There's a bench over there. Let's eat lunch with some real seats."

I thanked Arceus for the lucky break and relaxed as they both went to the bench I had not noticed.

I waited in that same spot for a couple hours. The two of them fed their Pokemon and ate something themselves. When they were finally finished, one of them pulled out a cell phone and got directions to where their other friends were at.

Once they were finally gone, I touched the stone again and the illusion of a rock around me faded into blue mist that was absorbed into the stone. I stood and stretched. My muscles had gotten stiff after running for so long and suddenly stopping for a good while.

My stomach growled when I picked up the lingering scent of the food the trainers and their Pokemon had just ate. I searched for something to eat and was rewarded with a berry-filled tree. I filled up on as many as I could find and smiled at my luck. I often had to search long and hard for food. It wasn't often that I would find so much food so easily.

The angry, no, furious, emotions I picked up after eating another berry proved that it wasn't going to be so easy.

I snatched two more berries before jumping on a low hanging branch to avoid the razor leaf the pissed off grass type threw at me.

I didn't stick around to see what kind of Pokemon had thrown the attack at me, I just began jumping from tree limb to tree limb. The territorial Pokemon screamed threats and insults at my back as I fled.

I had stumbled on areas that some Pokemon claimed as their own before. It wasn't often that the Pokemon making the claims was weak enough to take without nearly killing myself in the process, so I typically ran from such opponents.

Once I stopped detecting the angry emotions, I sat on a tree branch and finished the last two berries I had managed to grab.

It wasn't until I had ate the last bite that I noticed that my fur wasn't the blue coloring that I usually kept it. I looked around quickly, checking for any signs of humans around. There were none.

Only once I was sure no one had seen my natural coloring, aside from that one territorial Pokemon, I relaxed.

I didn't even have to touch the blue stone, I had so much practice doing that action I simply had to concentrate. My fur, normally a fine golden color, began turning into the blue that was normal for my species. The mist that came from the stone began at my midsection and spread from there. It moved down my tail the same time it moved up my chest and spread the blue all the way to my head.

One it was done, I stood and made sure that there wasn't any golden fur left that I could tell. I saw that there was none and began walking again.

I became aware of a flashing to my right and twisted my body to see what it was. The flashing appeared to my right again and I twisted to see what it was.

The third time I saw that it was to my right, I finally realized that it was coming from the stone. I watched how the stone blinked lazily and wondered what caused such a reaction. It had never done that before.

When nothing happened, I shrugged and turned back to where I had been walking. The moment I did, it began flashing quickly and I froze. I moved my arm back and forth and found that it only began blinking rapidly when I faced one direction.

I thought about whether or not to go with it, and decided that I might as well. I didn't really have anywhere to go to. And the stone had never let me down before.

With this in mind, I began running in the direction that the blinking stone demanded.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

We were close. Houndoom had led me for for a few hours through the dark woods. The only time we had stopped was to allow me to change the dead batteries in my flashlight.

I noticed Houndoom's excitement and asked, "How close are we?"

She thought and barked twice.

"Two hours then?"

Her head bobbed in confirmation and I rubbed her head affectionately.

"Get some rest. Return." She went back into her pokeball and I continued running in the direction we had been heading for the past few hours. They had kept a continuously straight path thus far and I decided to take a chance. Once I found an area to take off from, I called Staraptor out and took to the skies.

We flew over trees for a few minutes, covering ground quickly. The rising sun lit up the ground well enough to make spotting anyone an easy task. The trees gave way to grassland with thin stalks of yellow bending to the wind.

We were very high up, and there was little cover aside from the grass itself. With these factors aiding us, we managed to spot the group of three after another half an hour of searching.

I sent a message to Cassius. "Targets located. Moving in." I then turned the device off. The next part involved careful precision. That was not something that Cassius worked well with on his best days.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

We had been running ever since we ate and it wasn't until we left the trees that we slowed down to a steady walking pace.

"Luna, would you do a sweep?"

"Sure. Give me a minute." She sat down and closed her eyes to concentrate. She was the most proficient one with aura, that's why I asked her to do it. Taking advantage of this break, Andrea and me sat down and drank some water. The long stalks of golden grass was surprisingly comfortable to sit on. I noticed with silent amusement at how some of Andrea's body blended well when she sat with the background of yellow grass.

"How are you holding up?" I asked Andrea. She was breathing the hardest out of us three. She was fit, but not as fit as Luna and myself.

"I'm still going. Let's walk for a ways, okay?"

I nodded and said, "We could all use a more relaxed pace for a little while. We need to have enough energy to fight anyone off if the need arises."

"I don't sense anybody," Luna announced and moved over to where we were sitting.

"Good. What do you say to walking for a good ways before finding somewhere to rest for awhile?" None of us had gotten sufficient rest the night before, me especially, and needed to refuel.

Luna, who was breathing somewhat hard, nodded. "Sounds good. Pass me the berry bag."

We ate a little and rehydrated before standing and starting off at a fast walking pace.

The sun was finally coming over the horizon and we were making good time. We had only seen a few Pokemon and no humans.

The shadow that passed over had the three of us glance up on instinct. We all tensed and I cast my senses out to confirm what my eyes were telling me.

"Lets get going," I said and we took off. The man on the bird Pokemon would easily be able to attack us in such an open environment. We had to keep moving to not be such good targets.

"How did they find us?" Luna yelled.

"He might be a regular trainer," Andrea suggested and I gave it some thought.

"She has a point. If it was Team Phoenix, he would have stayed out of sight and called for reinforcements. Seeing as he didn't do that, it's more than likely that he's a trainer or something."

Luna agreed with my reasoning and said, "Even if he's not a part of Team Phoenix, we need to put him out of commission so he doesn't tell his friends."

I frowned and stopped what I was going to say as the flying Pokemon swooped down and deposited the man almost fifty meters in front of where we stopped at the sight.

He returned the Staraptor he had been riding to a pokeball, which he put in his pocket, and began walking towards us. He was pretty tall. About 5'10" on first guess. He had dark brown hair that looked windblown. He must have been in the air for awhile to get it like that. He looked highly unprofessional. His slight slump, casual walk, and blank face made my opinion that he wasn't associated with Team Phoenix even stronger.

"What should we do?" I felt mild surprise when Andrea created the group connection using aura instead of Luna or myself.

"We could just take him down before he has time to get any of his other Pokemon out, assuming he has others." Luna, who had been the one to suggest this, had already fixed her gaze onto the man and I hoped he was smart enough to not pull out a pokeball or she would attack despite what our decision would be.

"Maybe a warning shot? Close to his feet. Enough to possibly make him stumble or at least toss some dirt in his face?" That was my suggestion. I wasn't too keen on attacking some random guy who might not even be a threat.

"Or maybe you could hear me out before making rash decisions," the man, who had stopped when he was twenty meters away, said loud enough for all of us to hear clearly. His tone gave nothing away if he was amused.

The three of us paused, and Luna asked, "_Can he_-?"

He nodded at us and we looked at Andrea, who was looked away with an embarrassed expression.

"It's my first time creating a connection with multiple people. I didn't mean to include him in it!"

I forced back the urge to groan and instead spoke out loud at a whisper, "I think we should at least hear what he has to say. He may not know that we're protected from being captured, so we can afford to get a little closer. Get ready to attack if he makes a wrong move. Luna, see how many Pokemon he has with him."

She closed her eyes and said, "Eight Pokemon total. And he has some weird design on his back. Take a look for yourself."

I cast my aura out and focused in on his back. A strange shape that was oddly familiar looked to have been hand sown into the cloth.

I couldn't think of where I had seen the sign before, despite it seeming incredibly familiar, so I put it to the back of my mind.

"I'm going to try and talk with him. Be ready for anything."

At their nods of confirmation, I took a few steps forward and stopped when I was fifteen meters away.

"Who are you and what do you want?" I held a stance that could allow me to either rush forward in a burst of speed or leap away if an attack came my way.

The man held up his hands slowly in a peaceful gesture and said, "I was told to track you and Andrea Stone down. I assume you are Jacob Simmons?"

I saw no reason to lie, so I nodded silently and watched his reactions. That question made warning bells go off in my head and I prepared to throw aura spheres if he turned out to be hostile.

He nodded and said, "My name is Julius-"

"Your real name," I interrupted him when his aura gave his lie away.

He paused before answering with, "Daniel."

He wasn't lying, so I gestured for him to move on.

"I'm here on the orders of the WPO. My mission is to find and protect both you and Ms Stone."

I blinked at the monotonous proclamation. I studied his aura and discovered that he was telling the truth.

"Oh."

* * *

LEON'S POV

The stone stopped blinking when I began moving in the direction it wanted to go. The only time it lit up was when I began to veer off course. I ran for a few hours, slowing down a few times to avoid contact with trainers and hostile Pokemon.

I was taking a drink from a stream when a guy in a black uniform suddenly appeared from behind a group of trees and threw a pokeball. I jumped and immediately began running. This was a dance I was familiar with and I moved instinctively before truly thinking.

The thrown pokeball landed in the water and floated away with the current as I followed the stream in my efforts to get away from the man.

"Get back here, runt!" I heard the sound of a pokeball opening and the man yelled, "Beedrill, bring it back to me!"

I turned and warded the bug Pokemon away with a force palm when it attempted to pick me up as I ran.

"String shot!"

I leapt to the side to avoid the sticky material and grasped the stone. I concentrated on the bug Pokemon and it soon began weaving erratically through the air.

"Wha- get a hold of yourself, Beedrill! He didn't even use an attack!"

He was right, technically. I had used the stone to create illusions that only affected the Beedrill. I made it so that the Pokemon saw the ground heaving and the whole world shifting sickeningly. I had used the technique on humans before and some had been so affected by the stone that they began vomiting after a few seconds of it.

I pushed a little more aura into the stone to keep the illusion active and began running again. The moment I was out of sight, I hid in a large bush on the side of the path.

The sound of the man running after me was heard and I used the stone to create another illusion for him as he ran by.

He, and only him, saw an Aagron appear from seemingly nowhere and roar at him. Needless to say, he turned tail and ran as the illusionary Pokemon began chasing after him.

If he had actually turned around and looked back to where the supposed Aagron was stepping, then the ground shaking that his senses fed him would be proven false if he noticed that no tracks were left in the dirt.

Thankfully, he didn't. Due to this, I saw the oddest thing on his back. It looked a little like the legendary bird, Moltres. But some features were wrong.

I dismissed the design and instead began running in the direction the stone indicated once again.

A few more hours passed before night fell and I hid myself on a tree branch with an illusion surrounding me for extra protection. The stone stopped blinking when I stopped to rest and didn't bother me as I slept.

I woke up the next day and found some berries to munch on as I walked. The stone guided me again with its blinking.

Time passed, and I found myself at the edge of the forest. The moment I began to walk out of the trees and in an extremely grassy area, the stone flashed brightly once and then seemed to settle down.

I stopped and waited for a reaction. Nothing.

I looked around and found nothing of interest in the area. I began to walk away, intending to go back into the relative safety of the forest, when the stone began blinking madly and I went back to the spot I was before. That calmed it down.

I looked at the stone in mild irritation and said, "There's nothing here!"

The stone's silence was both comforting and an annoyance. I didn't exactly want the inanimate object to suddenly produce sound, but I wished that it would gave some sort of hint as to why exactly it had brought me to that spot.

With nothing obvious to see or do, I climbed up a tree and waited. I thought that maybe the stone had brought me to somewhere that something might happen. Hopefully soon.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

He pulled out a badge from his pocket and I recognized the same symbol at the top that gave him as much clearance as Uncle Shade.

"Throw it to me. I want to be sure that it's real."

He threw it under-handed and I caught it easily. I looked at it and probed the aura surrounding it. If this was a fake, then he had been carrying it around for a long while. It was heavily coated in his lingering aura.

"It's real. How do we know that you just didn't take it off someone from the WPO awhile ago?"

He thought for a moment before he said, "Mr Shade left a note in the brief. He said that this phrase would gain your trust." I saw his disgruntled expression and froze. Uncle Shade wouldn't-

_"Soft Skitty, Warm Skitty, Little ball of~"_

"Enough!" I interrupted his monotonous attempt at a sing-song tone before he could continue. "You're legitimate. Just, stop."

"Was that what I thought it was?" Luna asked with a grin, to my embarrassment.

"So," I attempted to cut off that line of thought. "You're tasked to protect us, correct?"

Daniel nodded.

"You know that I cannot teleport or fly, right?"

"The brief mentioned it, but failed to give a reason as to why."

I looked at Luna and spoke via aura directly to her.

"Check out his mind. Make sure he means what he says. But be discrete."

I turned back to Daniel, making it seem as though I had just asked Luna her opinion on something.

"It's because we're tracking down my father, who Team Phoenix has captive."

A blink showed just how surprised he was at the statement. I had a feeling that he wasn't one for showing much emotion.

"And how, exactly, do you intend to do this?"

I used the tracking technique and used my paw to cast some shadow over the nearly invisible translucent orb. The sun made it difficult to find the red dot, but I pointed at it.

"Those are my parents. This points in the direction of where they are."

He looked at the orb dubiously, but accepted my explanation.

"Jacob," Luna spoke out loud, knowing that Daniel wouldn't be able to understand her. "I checked. He does work for the WPO. Though he seems really uncomfortable around us. Aside from that, I think he's trustworthy."

I nodded and turned to Andrea, who had kept silent the whole time.

"Do you think we can trust him?"

"I think so. His presence will make traveling through populated areas much easier. He can act as our trainer."

She made a good point.

"Alright," I focused back onto Daniel. "We trust you. Let's get moving."

Andrea and Luna stuck close to me as we walked past the man. He saw how we were wary of him and stayed a good distance from the three of us as we walked.

The silence was beginning to become oppressive when Andrea broke it.

"How long have you worked for the WPO?"

"Six or seven years."

"What job do you do for the WPO?"

At this, he paused before saying, "My partner and I are given missions that traditional forces can not do."

I spoke up with, "You're the ones they call when they need hush hush work done?"

He nodded, though his face twitched when I said 'hush hush'. Maybe he didn't like calling it that.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

After finding the three of them and gaining their trust, we began walking. I wanted to get closer to them, but every instinct in my body told me to get on Staraptor and fly away as quickly as possible.

I kept a little distance between me and them as a nice compromise. I knew that Lucario had the ability to pick up or read people's emotions, so I was forcing my mind into as calm of a state that I could manage.

There I was, walking with the topic of my chronic nightmares. It took a great deal of restraint to not think of the past and the painful memories associated with it. At least none of them were Riolu. I didn't think I could keep myself stoic if they were. Even seeing the Lucario and Riolu from a distance at the Sanctuary was enough to nearly put me in a catatonic state from the bad memories that rose up in my mind.

"How did you track us?" Jacob asked me.

I tapped Houndoom's pokeball as I answered with, "Houndoom tracked your scents. We were lucky to pick it back up after that rain."

"Why is it that you're so uncomfortable around us?"

The female Lucario, the one whose name I had yet to ask for, finally pointed out the metaphorical Mamoswine in the room.

I thought carefully before I decided on, "It's a long story."

The golden Lucario, Andrea, said, "It's not like we don't have time." She gestured at the large area in front of us as though to indicate the amount of time it would take to traverse it.

I began to sweat lightly and was saved when the female Lucario pointed at Jacob and said something out loud that I couldn't understand.

Jacob looked at the- bracer? Looked at the bracer on his arm to find that it was glowing faintly.

"Is that meant to glow?"

Jacob shook his head to my question and said, "I'm not sure why it's glowing. It's glowed for other reasons before but I don't see anything that would have triggered it now."

We had stopped and Jacob waved his arm around slightly to see if the blue bracer would do anything else. He moved it back and forth and I noticed that it glowed brighter in one direction.

The female Lucario said something and Jacob nodded before I said, "Maybe it's pointing you in a direction?"

The three of them looked at me like I had said something stupid and I blinked with a confused look.

"Luna literally just said that. Moments ago."

"I cannot understand the Pokemon language. Sorry."

Luna waved the apology away and projected using aura, "Its fine. But the question remains; should we follow what the Aura Stone says?"

"Aura Stone?"

Jacob tapped the still-blinking bracer in response and said, "That's what it is called. I can change its shape, though It's real form is a stone. But this way lets me carry it around and use it easier. And I think we should trust it. Pip said that there might be someone inside it. Maybe that person is trying to tell us something?"

I held off my questions for later as the three of them debated among themselves. I stepped back a few steps and crossed my arms as I waited.

I was told to protect them and travel with them until it was deemed safe enough for the WPO to step back in and provide protection. As it was, some elements in the WPO structure had to be scrutinized carefully for any association with Team Phoenix. The only reason the WPO trusted me enough was because they knew of what I strove for in their organization. If I didn't do this mission correctly, that goal would be even farther away.

"Daniel." I blinked and focused back onto Andrea, pretty sure that that had not been the first time she had called my name.

"We've decided to go where the Aura Stone is pointing. Are you alright?"

She seemed to look at the permanent bags under my eyes pointedly and I nodded.

"I'm fine. Let's go if you have decided."

Jacob looked at me for a moment more before turning to where the bracer on his arm shone brightest and began walking.

They made small talk between themselves as we walked. They asked me a few questions now and again, but kept to themselves for the most part.

It was when we were approaching the end of the grassland that his bracer flashed brightly and stopped glowing altogether

I stopped a step after they did and looked around at the tree line we had halted next to.

"Is something supposed to happen?"

Jacob shrugged and looked around himself. The fema- Luna, closed her eyes and her aura sensing organs went up into the air.

"No humans except Daniel nearby," she announced to us before opening her eyes again.

I walked a few steps into the trees and had the feeling that I was being watched. I scanned the area carefully for the unseen eyes I felt.

"Are you sure there's no one around? What about Pokemon?" I asked Luna.

She gave me a slightly annoyed look and said, "There's one or two Pokemon nearby, but none close enough for us to see right now. Why?"

"I feel as though we are being watched-"

I said nothing else as a familiar golden shape suddenly became visible on a tree branch directly above Jacob. I couldn't see it, but my face drained of every trace of color. My hands began shaking and my breathing became uneven.

"_Ri_?" The all too familiar sound, despite not hearing it for so many years, broke the barrier I had erected to stave my memories off.

The last thing I remember is his name running through my mind.

_Julius._

* * *

Cliffhangery enough for you? :D

Tell me what you think of Leon and how you enjoyed that particular twist with Daniel. (Before any of you accuse me of foul play and say that he's a member of Team Phoenix, tell me precisely where _**I**_ said that. Can't find it? That's cause I never did ;). The inverted design of the Team Styx symbol is a different story for a later time. But he's not a part of Team Styx either. Legitimate WPO operative.)

I'll stop now before I give too much away. Please leave a review to celebrate this momentous occasion. (And to answer the question below, if you are so inclined.)

**Answer**: I'm from the United States of America. The southern part, if anyone wants to know the slight accent I carry. (Emphasis on slight. I'm a bit on the monotonous side when it comes to tone. Seriously. Some people call me Siri because of my lack of tone.)

**Question**: If you could have any three abilities/skills from any movie/book/comic/real life/etc. what would they be? (This is purely abilities not attributes like with my question before.)


	17. Choices Made In Youth

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 17

I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! In my defense, I was studying for the ACT. (For those of you who do not know what the ACT is, let's just say, it's a long as heck test that can greatly benefit your future if you get a high enough score on it.) But yeah. Took it. Hopefully I can get better than my first attempt (which resulted in a 28/36).

This chapter will be confirming a few theories about Leon that some of you have been mentioning and will be introducing Daniel/Julius' partner to the group. (Oh how I love Cassius! Especially with what I plan to do with him in the future.) It will also be explaining a bit about Daniel's past. (So, for you curious people, answers will be given!)

Now, for all you who have been patiently (or otherwise) waiting for what happens next, please enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I'm a bit too busy to write a disclaimer telling you what you already know. So I think I'll let Daniel here say it. Give them a warm welcome, Daniel!

Daniel: *looks at myself before turning back to reader* "Talkingbirdguy does not own Pokemon. What kind of name is Talkingbirdguy anyways? Is that your alias?"

Talkingbirdguy: "No, it's my- well, it's not important. On with the show!"

Daniel: "But what-"

Talkingbirdguy: "Enjoy!"

* * *

Chapter 17

Choices Made In Youth

JACOB'S POV

"Hello?"

At the sound of the greeting, I saw Daniel's eyes widen and his breathing became erratic. His face made it seem like he had seen a ghost. (And I didn't mean just the Pokemon kind.) The waves of emotion rolling off of him surprised us so much that we didn't move fast enough to catch him as his form went limp and he fell to the ground.

"Daniel?" I asked in the sudden absence of his strong emotions. I moved forward and halted when a beam of red light arced out from his pocket and a Ninetales was deposited next to Daniel.

She bared her teeth at us and said, "Back off. Give him some space or I will curse every one of you!" The thrashing tails around her body gave credit to her threat and I stepped back several steps with my paws up.

"Is he going to be alright?" Andrea asked, wisely keeping her distance as well.

The Ninetales relaxed her tails and said, "Just leave him alone for awhile. Don't approach him when he wakes up unless I come and get you or he comes to you. Got it!"

We nodded enthusiastically, not wanting to incur her wrath.

"We're just going to go over there to give you some room. Call us if you need anything."

She didn't bother to respond and I was shocked when she used her tails to reposition Daniel. A Ninetales consciously touching someone with their tails without consequences was practically unheard of. I had only ever done it once, when I was really young and my mom told Lucy to let me feel them. That was it. Every other time had a consequence.

But to see Daniel actually grab onto her tails like a security blanket and her be okay with it? I was shocked beyond words.

Luna gently yanked on my shoulder and I followed her as she moved to where I pointed before. I looked at the little guy who had apparently caused Daniel's... whatever it was, and waved for him to follow us. He landed on the forest floor and removed a leaf that had stuck to his blue fur before following us.

Once we were a sufficient distance away, I sat down and asked no one in particular, "What just happened?"

"I think he just had some sort of mental breakdown. It was triggered when he saw- what's your name?" Andrea directed the question to the Riolu who had sat a little ways away from the three of us.

"Leon Shine."

* * *

LEON'S POV

"Is he going to be alright?" The amount of pure anguish coming off of the man who passed out earlier was... painful to sense. Whatever had caused him to feel that way, I wasn't sure if I wanted to know about.

The male Lucario said, "We're not sure we met him only a few hours ago. We know that he's uncomfortable around us, but never had the reaction that you caused. Have you met him before?"

I shook my head. "Never seen him before."

He nodded and said, "Right. We never told you our names. I'm Jacob Simmons. That's Luna. And Goldielocks here is Andrea Stone."

Andrea, who had been conveniently taking a sip from her canteen, suddenly spewed it out.

She looked at Jacob with a glare and it transferred to me a moment later when I snorted in amusement at her expression. I wiped the grin off of my face and pointedly looked anywhere but at her.

"So what brought you here?"

I latched onto the question that Luna tossed me gratefully.

"This thing insisted." I moved the armband so the stone face the three of them.

I was confused when they took one look at it, blinked, then looked at the same time at the thing on Jacob's arm.

"Is that-"

"I think so," Luna agreed, admiring the stone in my armband with considerable interest.

"What are you talking about?"

Jacob tapped the thing on his arm and said, "Your Aura Stone. We're surprised to see another one."

"Aura Stone? This?"

"Yes. Don't you know what that is?"

My shaking head earned a surprised look. They spent the next fifteen minutes explaining what they knew of Aura Stones and I learned something surprising about Jacob's Stone.

"It can change shape? Really?"

He nodded and held up his paw. After a moment, the bracer-I finally learned the name of the thing-bubbled and reformed in his paw in the shape of a rock. I compared the sizes and was surprised at the difference.

"I wonder why mine is the size of a baseball and yours is only a little bigger than a golf ball?"

I shrugged and said, "Maybe it has something to do with how their abilities are different."

"What does yours do?"

"Illusions. See?" I concentrated and the blue fur that they saw reverted back to its normal state.

"Are you making fun of me?" Andrea asked with her arms crossed and a what appeared to be a slight pout in her face.

I shook my head and said, "No, I used an illusion to hide my real fur color."

There was a moment where my words seemed to click for each of them.

"You mean that your real fur is golden?"

"Yes."

"Er-" Andrea seemed so awkward as she said, "Sorry if I offended you."

I smiled and waved my paw in an offhand manner. "It's okay. You didn't know."

With that aside, I couldn't help but voice something that I felt from the three of them.

"Have you three been sleeping any lately? I can feel your fatigue beginning to set in."

Almost like my words summoned it, Jacob yawned loudly and Andrea did the same. It took some willpower not to do the same when Luna copied them.

"We had to run all~" the sentence petered off into another yawn and Luna picked up the slack.

"All night and haven't stopped since."

I nodded and said, "You three get some rest. I'll keep an eye out."

I saw Jacob about to protest and said, "You're going to have to stay here anyways, unless you want to leave your friend."

My logic pushed through and he nodded.

"Wake us if anything happens, please," Luna asked as she got a sleeping bag out of her pack and closed her eyes the moment she crawled into it. Andrea and Jacob did the same only moments after and soon the area was silent aside from the sounds of nature and their breathing.

I climbed up a tree and sat on a branch that allowed me to keep an eye on the surrounding area. I got comfortable and waited.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

A prod on my arm had my eye opening and giving a half glare at the offender who had interrupted my slumber.

"The Ninetales wants to speak with you," Leon informed me and I sat up after a second of confusion as to what Ninetales he was talking about. Once I remembered Daniel and his breakdown, along with the Ninetales who had allowed Daniel to touch her tails scot-free, I nodded and stood.

The Ninetales waved for me to join her a little ways away from where Andrea and Luna were still sleeping and I followed her. It was also a good distance from where Daniel was last.

"Sorry for waking you up, but I really need to speak with you about Daniel."

She sat under some shade and I sat facing her.

"The name is Jacob. What exactly caused Daniel's... episode?"

"Just call me Ninetales. It has to do with his past. It's rather complicated."

I saw her uncomfortable look and made a 'proceed' gesture.

"When he was younger, he was a member of Team Styx."

My body tensed and she quickly remedied, "But he's not in any way affiliated with it or Team Phoenix now!"

I had half a mind to simply wake Andrea and Luna and get out of there before he woke up. Only the desperation in Ninetails' eyes kept me from doing so.

"Explain," was all that I said.

Her body seemed to relax as though a weight had been removed.

"I don't know the full story. Only Houndoom and Staraptor know everything because they served as his partners during that time."

I filed the information away for later and nodded.

"His father brought him into the organization. Threatened to kill him if he didn't comply. Team Styx had a kind of initiation test. Each new recruit was given an egg to care for and whatever hatched from the egg was their new partner. The partners did everything together to be allowed to join Team Styx."

"What Pokemon hatched from Daniel's egg?" I asked, despite being almost certain of the answer already.

"A Riolu. A golden furred Riolu. They became as close as two individuals could without being related."

My suspicions were confirmed, though I did not expect the Riolu to be a shiny as well.

"I don't know what happened, but something occurred that made Daniel never see the Riolu again. He's only told the rest of his team that much. Since then, he's had chronic nightmares that limits his sleep drastically. Being near Lucario affects him badly, but being near Riolu puts him in an unresponsive state. I've never been with him when he's met a golden furred Riolu. I'm honestly unsure of what it might do to him. He keeps all his emotions buried and memories locked up inside when it comes to this."

At the end of it, I leaned back and looked at the sky.

"One more thing," she grabbed my attention once again. "I would be grateful if you somehow kept some distance between him and the Riolu. If he has to travel with us, then please ask him to not take offence at Daniel's attitude towards him."

I frowned at the request but nodded.

"Any idea of when Daniel will wake up?"

She shook her head.

"No. But I'm going to go back to him. I left Houndoom with him. While she's fully capable of keeping him safe, she isn't exactly suited to calming him down."

I trusted her word for it and headed back to where Leon waited.

I made a connection of aura with him to keep the conversation silent.

"Ninetales told me what caused Daniel to pass out."

Leon looked up at me and fiddled with his armband as he said, "And?"

"He's had a traumatic experience involving a shiny Riolu. He deals with it by pushing it away. When he saw you, the memories came back and he passed out from the overload."

I paraphrased what I knew and only told him enough so my upcoming request wouldn't seem bizarre or rude.

"With consideration to Daniel, will you please try to keep some distance from him?"

Wow. That really was rude. Even with a reason behind it.

I flinched and opened my mouth to apologize when he held up his paw and said, "I get it. You felt his emotions when he saw me as much as I did. I have no intention of making him feel like that again."

I was thankful that he was considerate of Daniel.

"If you want to get some sleep, I'll take over watch for awhile. I don't think I'll be able to get back to sleep anyways. You can use my sleeping bag, if you want."

He smiled and crawled into the offered sleeping bag and was still after a moment.

I sat away from the three of them and expanded my aura. I enjoyed the feeling of the sunlight that was filtered through the leaves above me on my fur as I kept watch. I occasionally swept my senses over Daniel, Houndoom, and Ninetales, making sure they were alright. But I always only glanced for a second before moving on. I didn't want to intrude.

I had been sitting there for almost half an hour before I began to get bored. While still keeping watch, I made the Aura Stone change into different shapes. It was odd, not seeing what I was changing it into despite knowing that it had changed.

I soon began to bore of that as well when an idea came to me. I knew that the Aura Stone would come to me if I called. But I had no clue if it would go somewhere if I asked.

Centering my aura sight back on myself, I concentrated on making the Aura Stone begin to zip away from where I sat and away from both groups that I watched over. I watched and was surprised when it moved by curling up into a ball and rolling. I watched it carefully, giving instructions when it needed to go around a tree or bush. It was almost half a mile away before I realized that I wasn't straining in the slightest to see that far. Normally, that distance would take up all of my concentration and I would have to be sitting in order to accomplish it.

When I was connected with the Aura Stone, I didn't even realize the ease that it took to see that far. I stopped the Aura Stone with a thought and tried looking in the area that the Stone was sitting. The moment the Stone left my range of vision, the strain it normally took to see that far became apparent and I shut down my aura vision before a headache could appear.

I rubbed my head and opened my eyes to take a break. The whiplash from the sudden retraction of my aura vision did leave a slight headache and I was glad I had not tried moving it further away before figuring out its ability to augment my aura vision. If I had, passing out would have been a likely possibility.

I stood and recalled the Aura Stone back to my wrist as I stretched. Out of idle curiosity, I checked on my aura and found that moving the Stone from a distance didn't take much out of my vast stores.

I snorted quietly at the mental image that came when I imagined what would happen if I had tiny reserves of aura. I would most likely have been reduced to a drooling unconscious state until my aura filled itself again.

"What's so funny?" I jumped and turned to see Andrea leaning against a tree, watching me.

"Nothing. Just thinking. Did I wake you?"

"Nah. I woke up on my own. I saw Leon in your sleeping bag. When did you get up?"

"A little over an hour or so. Ninetales needed to talk with me."

"And?"

I created a mental connection and told her all of what Ninetales had told me about Daniel.

Once I was done, she sat and said, "Do you think he'll be able to travel with us, with his past and Leon constantly around?"

I mentally shrugged. "No idea. I hope so. I really want to be able to travel with both of them. Daniel provides another layer of safety for us and Leon is, well, Leon." I couldn't articulate the reason why I wanted him to come along. Part of the reason was because he possessed an Aura Stone of his own, but that wasn't the only reason. Despite only just meeting the kid, I felt oddly protective of him. Maybe it was because I knew how much people wanted rare Pokemon after being with Andrea for so long and how difficult it must be to constantly looking over your shoulder for fear a pokeball might be sailing your way.

Instead of questioning me, Andrea nodded in what seemed to be agreement.

"I would like it if both of them could come. I think Leon needs someone to be with. I mean, don't you see how he acts when we talk to him? It's like he hasn't actually spoken to anyone friendly in awhile." I thought back and noticed how Leon had seemed overly cheerful when talking with us. He also had a shy side that came out when all the attention switched to him, evidenced by him twiddling his armband.

"I think you're right. He's probably been chased by poachers for a long time. He doesn't look like a stranger to roughing it."

"What are you two talking about?" We turned to see Luna walking up and I added her to our mental conversation.

"About Leon. We think he hasn't been in friendly company for a long while. What's your opinion?"

She sat and said, "I checked his aura and I'm pretty sure you're right. His aura was practically singing when he was talking with us. He also was feeling guilty about Daniel."

"I spoke with Ninetales and she told me about Daniel's past." I repeated what I knew to Luna and said, "Leon seemed to feel less guilty after I told him, so I think he'll be fine now."

"Let be careful not to leave those two in close proximity for any length of time," Andrea said.

I agreed with her and said, "At least one of us will have to be with them at any one time if they are together and away from the group."

They nodded their agreements and I heard the sound of someone approaching before we could say anything more.

I stood and relaxed when Ninetales walked towards us, followed by Daniel.

Looking at him with only your eyes would tell you nothing about the state he has been in before. Only his aura, unsteady and brittle as it appeared, gave away how he really was.

"Are you feeling better?" Andrea, Arceus bless her, asked what needed to be asked.

Daniel responded with his normal monotonous tone and bored eyes. "I'm fine. Are you three ready to go?"

"We just need to wake up Leon and repack our bags, then we're good to go."

He nodded and leaned against a nearby tree. "I'll wait here."

The three of us awkwardly left and went back to where Leon was sleeping. Luna went to the kid and shook his shoulder lightly.

His reaction was immediate. He tensed and Luna just barely leaned out of the path of an aura sphere that flew past the branches above and into the sky. She pinned his arms to his side and exclaimed, "Leon, relax!"

He froze and I saw his eyes fully focus. He went limp and said, "Sorry. Acted on instinct. Can you let me go now?"

Luna released her hold and stepped back.

"Daniel woke up and says he's ready to get moving. Are you rested enough to go?"

He nodded and got out of my sleeping bag so I could roll it up. He waited for us to finish and followed behind as we walked back to where Daniel and Ninetales were waiting. Luna scooped Leon up and put him on her shoulder before he could prevent it.

"You can relax there for awhile. I'll put you down if I get tired." She held up a finger to ward off his protests and he fell silent.

We came back to Daniel, who had apparently returned Ninetales, and he began walking in the direction we had decided to go without speaking. I saw how he flinched slightly at the sight of Leon, but made no other indication that he even knew he existed.

We spoke very little as we walked. What was said was stilted and uncomfortable. Leon, for his part, didn't seem affected in the slightest by the atmosphere. He had a content air about him that seemed to be a polar opposite to Daniel's eternally tense and stress-filled aura.

We walked for hours, only stopping for occasional breaks to rehydrate and eat. Luna put Leon down after awhile and he didn't protest at all.

* * *

LEON'S POV

At some point, Luna asked me, "So what all can your Aura Stone do? You've really only given us the one demonstration."

"It can change the colors of about anything. When I concentrate, it can create illusions that everyone can see or I can make it unique to the person I'm focusing on. I'm not really sure about this, but I think it can also enhance or fool someone's senses. I tried something that felt different from making illusions and the Pokemon I used it on screamed about it being 'Too bright' when it was nighttime. I haven't tested that part much, though. So I can't be sure."

The three of them paid close attention to my words, but Daniel didn't even make any notion of having heard me. I didn't hold it against him. He would warm up to me, eventually. I was confident of that.

"Why don't you give us a demonstration of that color changing thing?" Andrea suggested and I agreed with a nod.

I decided on my target with a grin and put my hand over the Stone. The blue mist streamed out and surrounded Jacob, who stopped in surprise. Before he could react, the mist moved in and all of his blue fur changed color.

When the Stone finished, Jacob was colored hot pink in every place he was supposed to be blue.

At the sight, Luna and Andrea burst out laughing. Jacob worried me when he stared at himself in horror and sank to the ground in the fetal position. Only the two's increased laughter assured me that he was not having some sort of deathly reaction to pink. Though he did seem mildly traumatized, so I had his fur return to normal.

I noticed Daniel, who had stopped walking when everyone else had, watching the exchange. For a moment, I felt a sliver of amusement in his aura at the sight. Then, he noticed that I was looking at him and he turned away, amusement gone.

After a minute, Jacob stood and said, "Any color but pink. Never turn me pink. **Ever**."

I agreed to his odd request with a nod, wondering what his deal was with the color. I made a note to ask Luna or Andrea at a later time.

We had to wait a few minutes for Luna and Andrea to recover enough to walk again, but we set off when they regained the ability.

Andrea requested another demonstration, seconded with a reminder of Jacob's request, and I made a variety of things change color as we walked. I made sure to reabsorb the aura so everything returned to normal when we walked past the affected areas and we left no trail. Jacob showed me a few tricks with his Aura Stone, changing it into several different shapes and objects.

"I wonder why our Aura Stones are so different?"

Luna spoke up. "I've actually been thinking about that. You remember us explaining how there may be people inside of the Stones?"

I nodded and she continued.

"Maybe the being held within makes the Aura Stone's abilities different because they are different people?"

I pondered that for a minute and said, "Maybe it's because the abilities they have reflect on the people's skills before they were put into the Stone?"

Andrea snorted and said, "So does that mean Jacob has a Ditto in his and you have a Kecleon?"

Luna chuckled at the suggestion but I noticed that Jacob seemed sort of interested in the idea. I was intrigued as well, but wasn't exactly buying that I had a Kecleon-of all the Pokemon-in my Aura Stone.

"Quiet!" Daniel hissed back at us and we fell silent. He hadn't spoken a word in a good while and we could tell he was serious now. I saw Luna close her eyes and she said via aura, "A man with two Pokemon is coming this way. Fifty meters."

Daniel nodded and said in a whisper just loud enough for us to hear, "Stay here. I'm going to investigate."

He rose and began walking to where the faint sounds of someone walking over crunching leaves could be heard.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

We ducked down to reduce the chance of anyone spotting us through the trees and I saw Leon grip his Aura Stone with a grim face.

I extended my aura and saw Luna and Andrea do the same. Poor Leon, being a Riolu, didn't have the skills quite yet to achieve aura sight and couldn't see what Daniel was doing.

Daniel walked for about thirty meters before stopping and waiting. The approaching guy must have heard Daniel through the trees and moved faster to where he was waiting. I looked closer at the person coming closer and my teeth grit when I saw the obvious symbol of Team Phoenix on his shoulder. Nothing says 'Notice Me!' like a bird on fire.

I looked back to Daniel and saw that he hadn't moved. I connected with him and said, "We can tell that he's from Team Phoenix." He flinched slightly at my unexpected words, but nodded to show that he understood.

Despite my warning, Daniel's only reaction was to shift into a slightly more sturdy stance. Shouldn't he be pulling out Ninetales or someone from his team?

The Team Phoenix man got close enough that he saw Daniel and I felt his aura seem to exude malevolent intent despite the smile he plastered on his face.

He began to speak, but Daniel cut him off by saying, "Are you a part of Team Phoenix?"

My eye twitched at the absolute bluntness and the Team Phoenix man hesitated.

"Yeah. What about it?" He pulled a pokeball out of his pocket and said, "You know what, I don't care. How about you hand over any Pokemon you have with you along with any expensive belongings, and I won't have my buddy take it from you by force?"

Gone was the smiling mask. It was replaced with a sneer and openly hostile body language.

Daniel nodded, like he was agreeing with the man's order. The next movement Daniel made involved his hand whipping up with something I hadn't seen him grab, and said object jerking with a nearly inaudible popping sound. My brain processed the gun in Daniel's hand about as fast as the Team Phoenix member processed that about a fourth of his left ear was gone.

He screamed, dropping the pokeball as both hands went to the missing area and he stumbled back in shock. Like an electric attack, Daniel sprinted forward and slammed his elbow into the back of his head while simultaneously sweeping his legs out from under him with a kick from his right foot.

The man impacted the ground so hard that it was audible from where we were watching. Daniel, who was facing the other direction thanks to his take-down maneuver, turned back and raised the gun once again.

"**Wait**!" I screamed in tandem with Andrea and Luna, straight into Daniel's mind.

I shot up and sprinted to where Daniel was standing, rubbing his head with a slight frown. We had probably given him a slight headache with our actions, but I didn't feel very guilty for doing it.

"There's no need to kill him! You knocked him out-" the groaning and slight movement from the prone man proved my statement false, but I forged ahead. "Look at him, he's beaten. Just knock him out and we can leave."

Daniel had fixed me with his usual blank stare by the time I had finished and had the gun aimed causally at the ground.

"He is a threat. If we let him go, he will report to his superiors and our position will be compromised. The only was to prevent that is to remove the threat."

Andrea stopped beside me and exclaimed, "And why can't we just take anything he could possibly use to speak to Team Phoenix and knock him out!? We shouldn't stoop to their level!"

At her last words, something in Daniel shifted and I saw a darkness enter his normally blank eyes.

"'_Their level'_? I've been at their level. In my past, I was ordered to do some horrible things. I did them to stay alive. And you know what? I still do them! The only difference now is that I have a different badge. The only difference between this kid and me is the badges we carry."

Luna's voice appeared then, via aura. It was the most serious tone I had ever heard her speak in before.

"Another difference that you fail to see is that you have a choice now. He doesn't. Did you have a choice in your past? And does he have one now?"

Daniel's eyes moved to where the guy moaned on the ground and I saw his jaw clench the tiniest bit. His eyes moved back and forth, as though he was weighing some unseen options. The three of us, as well as Leon, waited in silence.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

It was against protocol. Against my instincts. Heck, even my near dead excuse for morals were only putting up a weak defense to ending the man's life. As far as I was concerned, he was a threat to be eliminated. One shot. _Bang_. End of story.

Why did I have to get stuck with a bunch of teenagers who hadn't been deadened to how the world was? Why did they have to protest what needed to be done?

I looked at him and saw how young he was. About as young as I was when I was a part of Team Styx. A wave of memory was suppressed with a tensing of my jaw and I weighed my options. They already knew that I would not hesitate to do it next time, but now expected me to let him go now. If I killed him, he would no longer present a threat. However, they would then distrust me. Nothing I couldn't work around, I was used to disdainful looks. It would be a mild irritation, unfortunately.

If I simply knocked him out and dropped him off somewhere, taking everything except his clothes, he wouldn't be a threat to us for a good deal of time. If he did somehow get word to his superiors, keeping them safe would be near impossible.

I restrained a sigh at the situation and decided on a course of action.

I returned the gun to the holster on my left shoulder and said, "This once. Only this time. Another threat comes along like this one, I will not hold back." It only took a minute for me to locate and remove everything on his person, barring his clothes. I pulled Staraptor's pokeball and called him out.

Staraptor picked him up after taking a moment to read the situation and I said, "There's a large area of grassland back from where we came. Decide on which area is the furthest from civilization and put him down there. If he wakes up, knock him out again. Once this is done, return to us. We will be keeping a straight path in that direction." I pointed to where we were headed before and Staraptor nodded.

With a slight nod of greeting to my targets and the other two Pokemon standing to the side, he took off with the man being supported underneath by his talons.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

There was silence for a few seconds after Staraptor flew away with his package.

Daniel took it upon himself to break the silence by turning and walking in the direction we had been headed before.

Around that time, the sun was nearly directly above us and I assumed it was near noontime. We walked for another thirty minutes before Staraptor came back to us and reported that the Team Phoenix man had been deposited in an isolated area and was unconscious when he left.

Daniel returned Staraptor after hearing this and we walked on. Sometime after this, Daniel asked, "I need to inform my partner as to the mission's current progress. Is it okay if I do so?"

Those being the first words he had spoken since the confrontation, we nodded in agreement, all silently hoping that his partner wasn't as… socially deficient-let's go with that-as Daniel.

The device on his arm took a moment to turn on before announcing, "Seventeen new voice messages and thirty-three unread messages."

I blinked in surprise and said, "Someone's popular."

Daniel looked at me with a confused look and said, "They are from my partner. He gets a bit hyperactive when he has nothing to do. I'm calling him now." Daniel tapped the screen once and held his arm in front of his chest as he walked.

The phone didn't get done with its first dialing tone before the sound of, "_Yo_! Da-Julius-whatever! You alive man!?"

All of us, barring Daniel, nearly tripped from the surprise of the loud expressive voice that came from his supposed partner. I could have sworn I saw Daniel's eyebrow twitch but wasn't certain.

"Yes, I am fine, Cassius. This is just a call to give you an update on the mission's current status."

"Alright, lay it on me."

"Before I do so, would you _please_ remember proper communication procedure, for once?" I actually saw the ghost of a pouting expression from Daniel at his request. I doubted he would ever admit to it, but I saw it nonetheless.

"C'mon, it's not like we'll get in trouble for it."

Daniel released a little breath and moved on. I could tell this had been a long-standing issue for him and I doubted it would get any better anytime soon.

"I met with the assigned targets: Jacob Simmons and Andrea Stone. They had a single Lucario with them. After proving that I work for the WPO, we continued in the direction they were traveling. Upon entering the nearby wooded area, we encountered a Riolu." Daniel's voice did not waver as he told Cassius about how he 'Experienced some emotional whiplash' and said that it would not happen again.

"After traveling for some time, we came into contact with a low-level Team Phoenix member. I disabled him and removed all means of long range communication before leaving him in a isolated location, unconscious. I want you to be sweeping the channels, keeping an eye out for any indication that a large group is mobilizing to go to any one area nearby. Confirm?"

"Got it. Also, can you turn the camera to the rest of them? They're probably listening and feeling awkward right now."

It wasn't really awkward, but I didn't protest when Daniel turned the face of the device to us. It showed a shadowy figure that was barely picked up by the camera and showed very little detail of the owner of the voice.

"Hello!" This didn't stop Cassius, from waving what I thought was his hand-judging by the jerking motions of something-and saying, "Wow, a golden Lucario! They weren't joking."

Andrea rolled her eyes and I said, "Hey. I'm Jacob. Goldi-"

"Repeat that nickname one more time, and I'll have Leon turn you pink," Andrea threatened.

"Leon wouldn't do-" I saw the gleam in his eye and reminded myself that Riolu were naturally prank-happy. His rubbing of the stone was more threatening than such a gesture had a right to be.

"Never mind. This is Andrea." Luna, who had been out of the camera's sight-line, stepped in and said, "And I'm Luna. This is Leon." She held the Riolu close to the camera and he waved with a wide smile. It took Daniel a moment to realize that Leon was so close, but when he did, his next few steps took him a few yards away from the two of them.

"Hey Jacob, Andrea, Luna, and Leon! D- Julius hasn't been giving you a hard time, has he?"

Luna raised her voice to answer. "Not at all. But how exactly can you understand Leon and myself? Aren't you human?"

There was a pause where Daniel looked at Luna, as though wondering if she was the cause to Cassius' sudden silence. Too bad he couldn't understand her.

"You didn't tell them, Da-Julius?"

"You can drop the code-names, Daniel already told us his," I said loud enough for the device to pick up.

"Oh, awesome! I'm Terry. And the reason I can understand you is kinda complicated. Ya know that movie, Curse of the Lucario?"

"Yeah. My dad is who they based the main character off of. What about it?"

"Good now you know- _wait_! **Your dad is Jason Simmons!?"**

Daniel rubbed the bridge of his nose as though a headache bothered him and said, "I thought- never mind. Yes, Jacob is Mr Simmons son. No, you are not allowed to ask him to get an autograph from his dad for you."

Terry whined for a minute before continuing.

"Well, I'm one of those guys that Team Styx put Pokemon DNA in. Mightyena DNA, to be exact. Because of that, I can understand most of what Pokemon say. And can't you see the Mightyena features?" Terry's shadow looked liked it posed as though to show his apparent Poke-ness.

"Hate to tell you, but we can't really see you. It's too dark."

"Dark? Oh, guess I forgot to turn on the lights-"

"The battery is getting low," Daniel announced. "This is going to have to be cut short. Inform me if you pick up on any unusual activity among the usual channels."

"Fiiine. But get Luxray to charge it later. See y-" Daniel ended the call and let his arm drop down to continue swinging by his side.

"How did the two of you meet?" Luna asked after we had progressed a few steps.

"The WPO put us together as partners on one assignment. Apparently, I was the first person in five years not to immediately request reassignment upon the mission's completion. Because we completed two missions together without problems, the WPO has had our partnership solidified. I have been working with him for several years."

"What made everyone not like him? They weren't discriminating against him for his Mightyena DNA, were they?" I had seen several people be rude to Uncle Shade and Aunt Sierra (who had no qualms about being called Aunt) about their Pokemon appendages. Shade typically just acquired a bored expression and waited until the person went away or held back Aunt Sierra when she tried to attack the insulter.

She's vicious when she gets mad. I learned to fear her Lopunny ears after she put a dent the size of my head in an oak tree.

"No, that's not why. The testing he underwent at the hands of Team Styx made him a bit unhinged. Team Styx was never gentle with their prisoners."

"Terry was a prisoner?"

"Yes. He was on a mission for the WPO when they captured him. Did you ever hear about the early tests that Team Styx did? How it affected most subjects?"

The four of us shook our heads. Uncle Shade really never talked about his time as a member of Team Styx. My dad told me he had been born into it and had the Charizard DNA implanted when he was pretty young. Aside from that, and general public knowledge, I didn't know much about the testing that Team Styx focused on.

"In the early stages, even before Mr. Mutatin had his DNA altered, the methods they used were not often successful. Before they changed what they tried before, most subjects either died or went insane. Terry was one of those early test subjects."

"He seems alright now. What's wrong with him?" I asked him when he fell silent.

"Terry, after his DNA was altered, did go insane. He managed to break out of the facility he was held in and ran rampant in the area he was in. It was in a vast mountainous region, so it was by complete luck that a mountain hiker found him and called the WPO. He was unconscious when the group sent got there. The hiker had knocked him out with a Pokemon's attack to keep him from running off and hurting himself."

"Then?"

"They brought him to some facility and tried to get him mind back in shape." I saw the edge of his mouth twitch upwards in the semblance of a smile before it was gone and he kept talking.

"Several psychiatrists have required therapy after two or three sessions with his barely healed mind. Eventually, they had some powerful Pokemon rummage around in his head and put what could be fixed back together. For the most part, he's able to take on and execute missions within parameters."

"I'm going to assume he likes to push the boundaries?"

"He hasn't broken any yet. That is what matters."

I could tell that, for a guy like Daniel, Terry's lackadaisical nature with missions was probably torturous.

"Does he still do therapy?" Luna asked after a minute.

"No. After the tenth specialist actually put herself in a mental recovery ward, they dumped him off with me."

Luna grinned and said, "But I see that you're not reduced to a gibbering psycho. I wonder what keeps you out of the institutions?"

"Several tests saying that my self control overrides any and all mental damage I have endured."

The group fell silent at that. I wasn't the only one to notice his wording. He didn't say the damage caused by Terry exclusively. I wondered if he really needed to be somewhere where he could get help.

Leon spoke after a few minutes of silence. "Ask him about the Pokemon he has with him for me, please."

Andrea nodded and asked, "What other kind of Pokemon do you have?"

"Ninetales, Staraptor, Houndoom, Honchkrow, Swampert, Luxray, Maganium, and Mismagius."

"Do you mind if we meet them? We could meet them one at a time as we walk or you could let them all out when we stop tonight."

Daniel took a moment to consider before pulling out and opening a pokeball. The red light deposited a Luxray. We stopped when we saw that the electric type was lying on his back, oblivious to the world.

I held in a snort and said, "Does Luxray take after Terry?"

Daniel sighed and nudged Luxray with his leg. "Wake up, Luxray. They want to meet you."

He opened his eyes and yawned before standing up, eyes still bleary. "Sup. Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Definitely takes after Terry," Luna said via aura. At this, Luxray's eyes cleared and he looked around at the Lucario and single Riolu surrounding him.

He then grinned and leapt at me, exclaiming, "_You're so **fluffy!**_"

I turned with the intent to dodge, but was too slow and he knocked me to the ground and I let out an, "Oomph!"

"Luxray, have some discipline for once in your life, dagnabbit!" Daniel says in consternation while rubbing the bridge of his nose. Luxray, while he says this, is messing with my ears as I tried, and failed, to get out from under him. My chest spike had dug a small hole in the ground by that point from the pressure of him on my back.

"But they're like big ole Teddiursa bears!"

"We have to keep walking. Let him up."

Luxray finally released me and I stood and brushed my fur off like nothing happened.

We began walking, and for some inexplicable reason, Andrea grabbed onto my arm and held it as we walked.

I saw her focus onto Luxray and heard the faint whispers of her voice via aura. Since she wasn't proficient enough with speaking via aura, I managed to pick up on some of her words.

"-my Teddiursa bear! No- with him or I'll knock-"

I stopped listening and wondered if she knew that Luxray was only joking around. Eh. The female mind is not to be understood, lest one falls into an abyss of madness.

"I think you've gotten to know them well enough. Return." Luxray evaded the beam of light and shook his head.

"I want to walk. It looks great outside!"

Daniel lowered the pokeball in defeat and pulled out a different one. I took a few careful steps away, just in case the next individual shared Luxray's playful attitude.

Next up was Swampert. He looked around and scratched the fins on his head with a, "Hello. You are?"

We introduced ourselves as we walked. We had to slow down a bit, as Swampert was not the fastest individual. He seemed pretty laid back and quickly warmed up to us. The personality difference between him and Luxray was almost comical. Luxray spent almost the whole time walking with and joking around with Luna and carrying Leon on his back. They walked a few steps apart from Andrea, Daniel, Swampert, and myself.

Swampert didn't protest when Daniel returned him to his pokeball after twenty minutes or so of talking and instead vanished into the sphere with a wave. I didn't step back as Daniel released another pokeball, revealing the Houndoom who had probably been the one to track us.

I waited until she looked at us before smiling. "Hey, we haven't really met before. I'm Jacob and this is Andrea."

Houndoom looked at us… then turned to Daniel.

"Is there anything you require?"

I blinked in shock, and slight annoyance, when Houndoom blatantly dismissed us.

Daniel may not have been able to understand what she said, but after working with Houndoom for so many years, he got the gist of what she meant.

"No, they are just becoming acquainted with the team."

She looked back at us with the same disinterested look that Daniel bore. The difference in their looks is that Houndoom's had an obvious sign of resentment whereas Daniel's emotions were kept in check and out of sight.

"I am Houndoom." That was all she said, plus a quick bob of her head that barely counted as a nod, before looking back at Daniel. He returned her a moment later.

"Not very sociable, is she?" Andrea commented to me via aura. She had let go of my arm awhile ago and stood to my left with Daniel to my right and a little ahead.

I responded in the same way. "No, but maybe the next will be nicer."

Daniel let out the only grass type on his team and we stopped for a moment to let her catch her bearings and face us.

The pleasant smell of her flowers put me at ease immediately. The soothing scent coming off of her had Andrea's shoulders relaxing a little. I felt as though I would like her much more than Houndoom, just by her natural scent.

I smiled and was about to introduce everyone, when she developed a defensive stance and bellowed, **"GET READY, FURBALLS! I'M ABOUT TO SMASH YOUR FACES IN!"**

* * *

Yes! Done! And do you know what is special about this chapter? It's that this chapter is now the largest chapter in The Return of the Cursed Gift. Beating out chapter 9 by a decent amount. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it makes up for my long absence at the hands of *shiver* studying.

Please thank, once again, Insomniac98338 for his wonderful descriptions of Daniel's team. It has been a tremendous help.

So, please tell me what you think of the chapter in a review. Suggestions and questions welcome. (The latter, only if I can respond via PM to.)

**Answer**: Skills I would have? Apparition, from Harry Potter. (Who wouldn't want to be able to teleport?) Alchemic transformations (with or without transmutation circles. From Full Metal Alchemist.) And the ability to use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, or Shadow Clone Jutsu (From Naruto. Seriously, I would have chapters out daily if I could do that.)

**Question**: What other fandoms do you read/write for on this site? You can include just random fandoms you are interested in.

And that's it. Until I post again,

Talkingbirdguy.


	18. Broken Bonds

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 18

A mixture of finals, NJROTC, college preparations (as in, looking at colleges and ridiculous scholarships while still being a junior so please kill me now), intense writers sloth (Not to be confused with writers block.), and general life. Those are my excuses, and I beg forgiveness.

Disclaimer: You get the picture. The picture that I do not own.

Chapter 18

Broken Bonds

* * *

JACOB'S POV

Do you realize how confusing it is to have to understand that such a pleasantly smelling Pokemon is actually incredibly violent? No? Let me tell you, it's baffling!

"Maganium! They are our allies. Stand _down_." Daniel's orders sounded tired and bored, but they held steel that Maganium respected.

"Hn. Fine. Who are these twerps?" My eye twitched and I fought against the relaxed feeling her scent tried to instill. She wasn't making it very difficult to put up a defense. I stopped breathing through my nose and the affects were mostly nullified.

"I'm Jacob. This is Andrea. That's Luna and Leon over there," I gestured to the other side of her, where the three of them were watching Maganium.

She looked and nodded at the three of them. She gave the slightest nod to Luxray, but ignored Luna and Leon like they were not even there. Luna's twitching eye was the only representation of her ire. Leon patted her on the side to calm her down.

"We just wanted to introduce ourselves to Daniel's team. There's no fighting needed right now."

She scowled at my answer and said, "Fine. Call me out when there's some fun." Daniel must have recognized her tone, and expression, as he returned her and called out his next Pokemon.

I was wary of the next Pokemon. Three thus far had been pretty cool, while two had been either rude and or violent. I hoped this one wouldn't balance the scale the other way.

The floating figure turned slowly to face us after Daniel gestured in our direction without a word.

I introduced us again and waited for her response.

There was none. Mismagius simply examined us for a minute before turning back to Daniel. He returned her and that was it. I may have seen a grin, but I wasn't certain.

My eye twitched and I placed her hesitantly in the middle. She wasn't exactly rude, nor very nice.

"Hiya kiddos!" His old, but friendly, voice gave me hope that the scales would be tipped in a nicer direction as an elderly looking Staraptor appeared.

Andrea introduced each of us to the older Pokemon as he flapped his wings to stay at about head height and listened. I also told him that he was out at our request and we bid him goodbye as Daniel returned him.

"Hold up!" Luna's voice rang out in all our minds and we stopped where we were.

Faint sounds of combat could be heard in the direction we were headed.

I cast out my senses and relaxed when I saw it was just two trainers having a battle. I looked even closer and determined that their Pokemon were not particularly strong, so they would not be much trouble to deal with if they discovered us.

"It's just a battle. We must be somewhat close to the city." We had been making our way steadily for the port city. The reason why was due to my sensing technique informing me that he wasn't close enough to be in the city, but was somewhere across the expanse of water.

"If we are, then let's stop. I need to speak with all of you." Daniel turned toward us and Luxray allowed himself to be returned when he heard Daniel's tone. It was cold professionalism at its finest.

"From here on out, and until we are in a location I deem safe enough, you will abide by the alias you are given and only call me by my alias of Julius. Jacob and Andrea, you two will not speak out loud and instead only communicate via aura. We do not want Team Phoenix to get a fix on our location." Daniel turned to Leon with a short hesitation before he said, "Regarding your ability to change the color of things, are you able to keep something the same color for long periods of time without wavering?"

Leon nodded confirmation to Daniel and he continued.

"Then you need to keep Andrea's fur color blue for the entire time we are in the city and only allow it to revert back to normal when she is in a private setting with no observers. Is this understood?"

Leon nodded and wasted no time in clenching his Aura Stone and having the mist coat Andrea and himself. A blue furred Andrea nodded her thanks to similarly colored Leon a moment later and Daniel announced our aliases.

"Jacob," he got my attention. "Your alias will be Kartikeya-"

"Kar-"

"I expect you to begin speaking solely in aura starting now."

I reverted to using aura to get my opinion across.

"Kartikeya? Hmm. It's okay. I thought you would come up with something like Spikes."

I had the feeling he was slightly insulted that I thought he would come up with such a mundane name, but his face did not give this away.

"It is simple and serves our purposes. It's also nothing like your real name. Andrea, you will be Persephone."

Andrea, who had been nodding appreciably at my new name, suddenly scowled at the title she had been given. Perhaps being the goddess of the underworld and of spring growth didn't appeal to her very much. Considering she could be one or the other at different times, I didn't see her problem. Then again, being a deity of war was pretty cool.

She began to protest, via aura, but sucked it up when the expression he shot her gave no room for negotiating.

"You two will not require aliases, as no one else will know your names. Perhaps in the next town after people have seen you." He spoke to Luna and in the general direction of Leon. He wouldn't meet the Riolu's eyes a second time.

Luna snickered at Andrea and me as we glared at her for her luck. Who knew being not very well known could work in your favor so much. Lucky Lucario. The names really weren't that bad. We just didn't like that they were needed.

At least Leon didn't laugh at us. He gave me a pitying look, which I appreciated.

"Fine. Let's get this over with, _Julius_." I said his alias with mild amusement.

He did not react to my tone and began walking. We followed behind him as we got onto the path heading into the city. Luna walked on Daniel's right with Leon sitting on her right shoulder. Andrea and I stayed a yard behind and very close to one another.

We got plenty of looks on our way in the city and I could tell that Andrea wasn't the only one stiff with apprehension. Leon had a wide-eyed look and his paws were twitching a little. I could tell he was very uncomfortable, being surrounded by so many humans and not attempting to hide. Luna squeezed Leon's paw and that seemed to help.

We followed the directions of a sign with all the major locations in the city and made our way towards the docks. We were stopped at a crosswalk and had to wait for the light to change.

* * *

LEON'S POV

Every instinct told me that going through the city was the epitome of bad ideas. Couldn't we ask some large water Pokemon to carry us wherever we are going? Some water types could be really nice.

Then again, a few would eat us before ever willingly helping someone.

My neck prickled when I felt the eyes of someone staying on us for longer than the rest. It didn't necessarily have to do with aura sensing, as Riolu couldn't normally sense using aura on command. It was more of a sixth (or seventh if you count aura) sense that you create after being alone for a long time.

I whispered down to Luna, "I think someone is watching us. I mean, like _studying_ us." Of course people were watching. They were outright staring!

Luna nodded and created a connection with everyone in our group.

"Someone is paying too much attention to us. Leon can feel it." Daniel nodded to show he heard and kept his eyes straight ahead. I felt his mild anxiety and saw his hand twitching towards where he kept his pokeballs. He hid this reaction by changing it into a scratch.

The light changed and we crossed the road, ignoring the people staring at us through their vehicle's windows. I ducked a little behind Luna's head to avoid their stares. Daniel had to politely deny a trainer who desired a battle with the hurried excuse of being late to some meeting he conjured on the spot.

"How are you doing?" I heard Andrea's voice via aura.

"Just nervous. Never been in a city this big. Haven't been around so many humans or Pokemon before either."

"Don't worry. We're about halfway to the docks. And most cities have strict battling laws, so Daniel should be able to easily avoid any requests about battling if they come."

"Aren't you worried about getting caught by some trainer?"

Jacob piped up with, "All of us are already caught. Let's make sure to tell Daniel about this issue later. Luna, make sure to not let anyone too close to him."

"Got it. Can I-"

"**No**, you are **not** allowed to aura sphere them. Not unless they throw the pokeball at you or Leon. Then use aura sphere until Daniel stops you."

I felt Luna's glee and bopped her on the back of her head. She chuckled and rubbed the spot I hit.

"We're here," Daniel spoke from in front of us and I finally noticed the smell of salt in the air.

I looked to our left, past Luna's head, and jumped when a large ship let out the booming sound of its horn. Daniel checked the device on his arm and looked back up after a moment.

"Cassius has acquired tickets for us on a ship. Look for a ship called the _Beached Wailord._"

So we walked along the docks, weaving through a decent sized crowd, in search of the vessel.

I saw the ship thanks to my higher vantage point and pointed it out to Luna, who informed the group.

Daniel led us to the ship and found the captain of what looked to be a medium sized fishing vessel.

"Are you in command of the _Beached Wailord_?"

The older man nodded. "Yes sir. Captain Quinn, at your service. You match the descriptions the fellow left for me. You're Julius, right?"

Daniel nodded and Captain Quinn smiled and said, "Welcome aboard! We will be leaving soon, so please come and get comfortable."

* * *

JACOB'S POV

Captain Quinn had a grandson, who looked about eight or nine, lead us to two separate rooms.

"My grandpa used to use these rooms for storage when he ran a fishing business but renovated them after selling it awhile ago. Just find me or my grandpa if you need anything."

We nodded and entered one of the rooms. There were three beds in it and two more in the room next to us.

We found various places to sit in the first cabin and I asked, "So why this ship?"

"Cassius told me that he chose this one because it wouldn't leave a massive trail behind. About anything else would have resulted in someone possibly knowing that a group of Lucario was wanting to get somewhere. That's why he rented out this entire ship."

"Wouldn't that tip somebody off if a small number of people bought all the space on a ship?"

"Cassius took measures to not raise suspicion. Do not worry about it."

"You have a lot of faith in him." Luna barely made it into a statement rather than a question.

"He gets the job done."

After waiting, fruitlessly, for a moment to see if he would continue this line of conservation, Luna looked to me and asked, via aura, "Might want to make sure we're going the right way. I'll see if there's anybody else on the ship." She lowered her head and closed her eyes.

I held up my paw and focused. I found it much more difficult to use the technique and had to put more effort and aura into keeping it active. When it appeared, it seemed to wobble and shake as though it would fall apart, but it did show a dot in the direction we were headed.

I released it and relaxed with a sigh.

"Narri was right. It is harder to use while on water."

"But it is still accurate, correct? It wouldn't point you in the wrong direction?"

"Don't worry, Daniel. Narri told me that it would just not work as well when I'm over water. As long as I avoid flying and teleportation, it will stay accurate."

Luna opened her eyes and announced, "No other humans on the ship aside from the kid, the old man, and Daniel."

"And Pokemon?" Daniel questioned.

"There's two other Pokemon on the ship, but they look to be the Captain's Pokemon. Both in pokeballs."

Daniel nodded and changed the subject.

"Regarding sleeping arrangements. I will be in this room with Persephone and Kartikeya. Luna, you and him will be in the other room. Everybody understand?"

Everyone gave various forms of confirmation before Luna stood and walked to the door.

"I'm going to walk around."

Leon jumped off the chair he had been sitting in and followed her out the door.

"Why don't you let your Pokemon out for some fresh air?" Andrea suggested to Daniel.

Daniel agreed after a moment and we left the cabin before he released all his Pokemon one by one and told them to relax while we had a chance.

Luxray and Houndoom stayed with us while the rest went in different directions. Honchkrow flew off before we could talk to him. (Mismagius floated through the ship with a smile that made me make a mental note to watch out for her.)

Luxray talked about different stuff and bolted around like he had a sugar high. Houndoom... Houndoom did none of that. She walked just behind Daniel and her eyes rarely drifted over to Andrea and myself.

She had an aura much like Daniel's. Though hers had more anger and distaste for Andrea and me rather than anxiety. I'm pretty sure she only stayed with us because Daniel was there.

"How long should it take before we reach land, Julius?"

"Two days. We will dock in a small town and make our way from there."

I nodded and looked over the rail of the ship to see the blue waters below us. Indistinct shadows below the surface told me that water Pokemon swam nearby.

We walked around until we found an open area at the front of the ship and relaxed there until Captain Quinn announced that supper was being served.

* * *

The time we spent aboard the Beached Wailord was both relaxing and grinded on my nerves. I wished that we could have been moving faster than the pace the Captain had set us at. The two days we spent doing near about nothing had the sight of land become the equivalent of a break to an overworked man.

Daniel, in the very rare times he managed to sleep, constantly tossed and turned. He also gave off heavy amounts of fear and sadness, which kept the aura sensitive members on the ship awake. Needless to say, we got much less sleep than usual on the voyage. Most of the time, he would either lay awake in his bed or walk outside and stand guard or something. I had to stop Luna on multiple occasions from trying to spike Daniel's food or drink with sleeping powder. How exactly she got sleeping powder in the middle of the water, I'm not sure.

Sometime in those two days, we finally told Leon who we were searching for-as we had forgotten to do so until that point-and that Andrea and I were both originally human. After a minute of shocked silence, he accepted it without too many questions. We attempted to ask him about his past, but he was quick to change the subject, and we respected his privacy.

I also found out two things regarding Houndoom during that time and one, very horrifying, detail about Mismagius. For Houndoom, I found that her aggressive feelings towards the rest of the group-in regards to the Lucario and Riolu-only grew worse. She had snapped at Luna once when she had gotten 'too close' and that nearly developed into a fight that Daniel had to stop. The only people she got along with were the other Pokemon on her team and Daniel. To anyone else, she either strained to be cordial or showed her distaste. She seemed to get along with Ninetales the best, from our observations.

The other thing about Houndoom happened to involve Luxray. Luxray had a crush on Houndoom.

Yes. Mr Bubbly and eternally enthusiastic had eyes for Mrs Broody and Get-Away-Before-I-Bite-You. You could tell it both from how his aura reacted when he caught a look at her and how he was a little less all over the place when in her presence. That was his attempt at looking composed and impressing Houndoom. Honestly, I wasn't sure if it worked on her or not.

As for Mismagius, she finally acknowledged our existence. How she did this, you might ask? Well with a prank, of course.

No one on Daniel's team saw fit to warn us that Mismagius was a notorious prankster. Her haunting laughter told us who the culprit was. We found out how notorious she was while trying to wash the mess that dumping fish oil on fur causes.

"I swear, I'm going to kill that ghost type!" Luna repeated for the fifth time as she poured water over her arm.

"Is that even possible?"

_"I'll get an** exorcist!"**_

I silently wished Luna the best of luck in her endeavor and planned how I could prank the mischievous dark type. Leon, being lucky, had been just behind Luna when we were doused with the liquid. Because of this, he didn't smell and didn't have to wash himself for almost an hour to get the slimy feeling out of his fur.

Though the smell lingered, we stepped off of the ship with our fur somewhat back to its original state. Leon continued to hide his and Andrea's golden coloring with his Aura Stone.

We found a place where there were no prying eyes between some buildings and I used my technique to give a direction.

"The dot is a little bigger," Leon noted, poking his finger into the floating orb. As this caused it to shiver and nearly fall apart, I pulled it away from him.

"Yeah, it is. What's our plan, Julius?"

Until that point, we had been going along our predetermined plan of 'Get to the city and get on a boat'. But seeing as we achieved our goal and were in entirely unknown territory, both Luna and Andrea agreed with me in that Daniel might know the area better than we did and might have a better time coming up with a plan.

Daniel thought for a moment before pulling out a map and finding the direction that we needed to travel from our current location.

"We have the option of renting a vehicle, but that comes with its own risks. If we hoof it in a straight line, then we will be moving through a nearby Reserve that's pretty close. This will provide a lack of people, which means there is a much lower chance of discovery. It'll take longer though."

We discussed the options and threw ideas back and forth for several minutes.

Eventually, we decided to walk. There was too much risk of being discovered if we bought a car or rode the bus, so this was the best option.

When we were walking out of the small town, Daniel received a call on his arm device.

"Julius here."

"Hey! Cassius calling! I'm just wanting to ask your current status as you haven't said anything recently. Wassup?"

Daniel's eye twitched and he said, "We've decided to make our way to the local Reserve in order to avoid as much human contact as possible. I will inform you when we begin to enter as there may be a lack of signal while inside."

"Alright. How's the blue and gold group?"

I snorted at the description he gave of us and Luna said, "We're fine, Cassius. How have you been?"

"Eh, doing fine. Spent an hour getting a knot out of my fur and I'm so bored! I've had to shift through so much Team Phoenix information to make sure-"

"Cassius," Daniel interrupted. "Let's keep the chatter to a minimum. Any new information regarding Lucario?"

It sounded like Terry was searching around in a stack of paper before he said, "There were mentions of a group of Lucario in the city you left a few days ago, but they soon turned their attention away after they sent someone to confirm that you weren't using something to dye your fur."

Andrea shivered and said, "That must be who Leon felt watching us."

Daniel nodded slowly before looking back to the camera. "Is that all? Any news on Jason Simmons?"

My ears twitched to listen even more closely, but slumped when he said, "Haven't heard anything. Sorry." His voice conveyed what sounded like sincere regret. This told me he really had been looking.

"Just keep trying," Daniel ordered. "Give them some false leads and write out a basic report to send in later. Julius out." Daniel hung up after that last command.

We were walking along the side of an old road and for a good while before we felt it.

I happened to be walking a few feet ahead of Andrea, so it happened to me first. A red light covered my whole body in less than a second, and then broke apart with the sound of shattering glass. I suddenly felt something in my heart seem to vanish, and a sense of abandonment rose in its absence.

"Jacob!" Daniel did not correct or berate Andrea when she rushed forward as I fell to my knees and hugged my body. As Andrea got to my spot, the same red light surrounded her and shattered. Now there were two Lucario moaning on the ground. Andrea was on her side and had tears pouring from her while I was gritting my teeth in order to prevent the ones welling up in my eyes from coming out. Her leg smacking into my head as she collapsed did not help any.

"Luna, you grab Persephone and follow me!" Daniel hauled me up and carried me into the nearby undergrowth. Luna couldn't carry Andrea fully, but bore most of her weight as Andrea stumbled next to her.

Daniel found a place and set us down.

"Both of you, listen up!" His militaristic voice pulled us out of our unexplained misery just enough to focus on him.

"You two are no longer connected to your pokeballs. The feeling you are having right now is a side effect of the bond breaking. I do not have extra pokeballs with me, so you will have to get a hold of yourselves until I can buy some more."

A part of me remembered a lesson in class explaining the technology associated with pokeballs. One thing built into them was the possibility of breaking the bond that the device made with the Pokemon. There were several ways to cause this break but one of the most painful was when it broke due to distance.

Pokeballs have an incredible range, but it is not infinite. If the Pokemon it is connected to gets too far away, then that pokeball cannot hold the bond. This means that the Pokemon loses immunity to other pokeballs. It also instills a feeling of abandonment in the Pokemon. It was a policy in most airports to require flyers to show that they have their Pokemon's pokeball before leaving to avoid experiences that Andrea and myself were going through.

(There were pokeballs with a much larger range that used satellites to stay bonded, and that was what my dad had used for Narri, Pip, and Luna. This made it so that they could go basically anywhere in the world and not worry about being caught off guard and possibly in danger.)

Knowing all of this made absolutely no difference in dulling the emotions we felt. I tried pulling logic into my head and telling myself that I did not even have a trainer to feel abandoned by. Andrea wasn't having a much better time than myself. In fact, I think it was worse on her, judging by how she cried quietly. I could feel myself shaking like I was in freezing weather and nothing I did could stop it.

I closed my eyes and tried to stop. I heard someone sigh and someone being released from a pokeball.

"Aromatherapy." My body loosened as a sweet scent filled the air and the relief caused me to feel lethargic beyond belief. I fell asleep in moments, gratefully escaping the emotions through rest.

* * *

LUNA'S POV

I twitched my paws restlessly and kept glancing over at Jacob's and Andrea's listless forms on Maganium's back. She was the only one who could carry them without being slowed down or having to be fastened to. Her aromatherapy worked as well as any hypnosis attack and those two were out like a light. I believe it was the relief from the grief that allowed them to sleep. Their minds, after being under a barrage of painful emotions, gripped the escape without hesitation.

Leon, who was riding on my shoulder, hadn't fared as well as I had when Andrea and Jacob collapsed. Lucario had the ability to block out emotions with enough practice. Riolu had to be taught how to do it and they had to practice extensively before blocking strong emotions.

It was more than obvious that Leon had not been taught, as he stared at the ground. Almost as listless as Andrea and Jacob on Maganium's back.

I nudged him and said, "How are you?"

He took a second before looking at me. His eyes lacked their usual bright cheerfulness and seemed so exhausted.

"Just... _tired_."

I knew what he was feeling. Leon had felt almost all the emotions that Andrea and Jacob had felt just a little while before. I almost wished that Maganium's aromatherapy had knocked him out. The fact that Daniel did not stop to allow everyone to rest almost caused me to shout at him. Only the fact that we needed to get somewhere safe for them to rest stopped me from doing so.

"Entering the reserve. I will report upon exiting. Julius out." Daniel spoke into the device on his arm and I noticed for the first time that we stood in front of an old fence. It was not as well kept as the one around the Sanctuary.

Daniel turned the device off and widened the hole that he found in the fence after only a minute of searching. The heavily rusted area did not put up much of a challenge and we were soon among many trees and heavily foliage.

"Reminds me of home." Daniel frowned at my comment and let Maganium take the lead as her tougher skin and wider body would clear a path faster than if she was in front.

* * *

Before anything else is said, I wish to give my biggest apology to my readers for the lateness of this chapter. I also apologize for the lack of action in this. I plan to have a rather interesting chapter next. Reviews will guilt-trip me into working harder. *Hint hint*. That is all.

**Answer:** Writing: Pokemon (duh), Harry Potter (need to rewrite that), Naruto (need to update that), and Zatch Bell (the fandom is dead and so is that fic for the most part).

**Question: **What is probably the best Crossover you have ever read for any two fandoms? (Top three, if you can't decide.)

Talkingbirdguy out!


	19. Things Get Wibbly Wobbly

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 19

You would think that, with summer vacation, my writing would speed up, right? Nope. I'm, shockingly enough, more busy now than at any other point in my high school career. Looking at colleges and trying to find/apply for suitable scholarships is possibly one of the most stressful parts of my life. Ugh. So please enjoy. This is one of my few releases from stress that provides actual enjoyment.

Also. I realize that the Certain Pokemon-that you will read about soon enough-is technically gender-less. But, seeing as I have no idea on how to refer to a gender-less person or Pokemon, I am going with the male gender. Just because.

And please give thanks to The University of Alabama at Huntsville. I recently got my acceptance letter from there and my muse seemed to return as I got the letter. I might be going there so if any of you plan to go, I'll see you there after my senior year! PM me and tell me of the awesomeness that awaits if anyone happens to go there.

Disclaimer: I own a few Pokemon games, but that's the extent of my owning of Pokemon. Sotaru Iwata-sama (may his soul rest in peace) company, Nintendo, deserves all the credit for owning Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 19

Things Get Wibbly Wobbly

DANIEL'S POV

It just had to happen right before we entered the Reserve, didn't it? Murphy's thrice cursed laws just had to pop up on this mission. I knew that it would happen eventually, as we had traveled a great distance from where I assumed their pokeballs were being held. But it had to be there?

"Luna," I said to catch the Lucario's attention. She appeared to be speaking quietly to the- the younger Pokemon, but looked up at the sound of her name.

"I need you search for a good place to rest as we walk? Preferably a cave that is uninhabited."

She nodded and closed her eyes. Seeing as she avoided roots and such without difficulty, I did not bother to stop and wait.

We were not moving that quickly. Meganium was not that fast of a walker. Her body was just not designed to move quickly unless she was in a battle situation. The foliage that she had to push through slowed her down even further. More than once, she let out an attack in frustration with the appearance of clearing the way ahead.

"Nothing. I will check again in a little while."

I accepted the report with a nod and decided to check on my communication device. A glance confirmed what I expected to see. No signal. Too bad. I turned it off to preserve the battery.

* * *

"I found one! Turn about thirty degrees to our left and it's only a little ways ahead."

I turned as she advised and took the lead for the short distance to the cave. I checked it out and made sure it was big enough to hold the five of us and wasn't the residence of someone else.

"I began to pull Jacob and Andrea, who were still unconscious, off of Meganium when Luna spoke up in a warning tone.

"Daniel. I smell several old scents in here."

I paused and asked, "How old?"

"They're around a week, maybe two, I think. But that's not what is bothering me. It's that these are Lucario scents. At least two, maybe three separate ones. It's hard to tell after so long."

I continued unloading the two unconscious members of our group as I thought on this. The cave dug deep into the rocky hill it was formed in and scents would have a habit of lingering with not very much around to mask them. I returned Meganium after placing the two humans-turned-Lucario side by side and began gathering supplies for a fire. It was dark in the cave and pretty cold once you walked a little ways in.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

The first thing I registered upon waking up was that there was someone with their arms around my waist and something was pushing itself into my belly.

My brain slowly rebooted and I opened my left eye to see Andrea was the one burrowing her nose into my side. She was obviously asleep, as her slow breathing and closed eyes gave testament. I was careful not to move as I blinked away the sleep from both my eyes and looked at our surroundings.

I noticed that we were laying in a cave and that a small fire had been built a few feet to Andrea's left. Further observation revealed that Leon was curled up in one of our sleeping bags and was twitching occasionally with flashes of emotion coming off of him every now and then.

I saw Luna closer to the cave's mouth a moment before she spoke via aura.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine. A little stiff, but fine."

She gave a small grin and said in a tone I heard from Lucy often when Andrea was brought up in a conversation, "Oh '_stiff_', you say? Isn't that a bit appropriate for the situation?"

I felt my cheeks heat at her innuendo and Andrea began to wake up at my own tiny movement.

"It's not like that! And you made me wake her up." She continued to grin a moment longer at my discomfort before speaking once more.

"But really, how are you doing? Do you remember what happened?"

The fact I didn't remember a thing about getting to this cave and helping make that fire told me that something had happened and I strained to think back.

"No. Did someone attack? Is everyone alright?" I felt some worry beginning to flutter when I noticed that Daniel was not in the cave.

"No, no one attacked. Well, there was that one Kakuna that Meganium hit her head on, but everybody's fine. Daniel had to stop her from attacking the stupid hanging thing and I got a good laugh." Through her amusement, I recognized the tone she used. It was one for when I was incredibly distressed or getting royally ticked off. It was also something used for when she needed to break something embarrassing or important to me.

"Then-"

"Just wait for Andrea to wake up. I'll explain it to the both of you. And, wow, she wakes up really slowly. Is that normal?"

I shot Luna a mild glare to knock it off and spoke out loud.

"Morning-er-evening, I don't know. Hey, Andrea." My shoulders slumped a little at that botched greeting and I resisted the urge to smack a madly grinning Luna.

Thankfully, Andrea was still in the process of waking up and wasn't exactly coherent yet.

After a few minutes, some minor waves of embarrassment from Andrea, a few thinly veiled innuendos from Luna, and a couple responding threats from me, we were both leaning against the stone walls of the cave and facing Luna.

"So what happened?" Andrea asked. She had no idea how we had gotten there or why we were the only ones asleep, sans Leon, either.

Luna seemed to look for the right words before she said, "You both went out of the range of the pokeballs you were bonded to. Those bonds broke and the both of you had a sort of mental breakdown. Daniel tried to calm you two down by having Meganium use aromatherapy on you, and it worked. We think the relief from the Breaking caused both of you to shut down. We got to the Reserve we were headed to and found this cave after a few hours of walking."

Luna let this sink in. The both of us knew what happened when a Pokemon's bond was broken with a pokeball. We knew that it was a serious crime in some places to break your Pokemon's bond with its pokeball because the emotion it instilled was just so devastating.

"I can't remember anything bad happening," Andrea said bluntly. I nodded in agreement with her. I wasn't sure if it was some sort of defense mechanism or some sort of very focused memory loss. Whatever it was, I wasn't sure whether to be grateful or not. Yes, it censored a horrible ordeal for the both of us. But that was our memory. I didn't feel comfortable giving up what made me, Me. Even if it helped.

After Luna made sure we were both truly alright, she told us that Daniel was outside the cave, standing guard. I told the both of them to go ahead and get some sleep as I needed to ask Daniel something.

I turned the slight curve in the cave that led to the outside and was assaulted by the sounds of rain pounding the rock outside. I was surprised that I hadn't noticed it before, seeing as it was a constant drone with the occasional thunder booming in the distance.

I looked at the cave entrance and found no trace of Daniel. Confused, I sought out our protector via aura and found him about twenty feet away from the mouth of the cave, under a tree. I saw that he was wearing a poncho and that the tree diverted a decent deal of the rain, but knew that he was slowly getting soaked.

Seeing as he took care of us when we passed out, and has been protecting us diligently, I couldn't just let him sit out there without feeling some guilt.

I had the Aura Stone morph into the very first object I semi-consciously created with it and held the dome above me as I walked out into the downpour. I couldn't see more than five or six meters in any direction with my eyes, so I announced my presence via aura when I got within four meters of him.

"Hey D-Julius, it's Kartikeya. Me and Persephone woke up just a minute ago. Why are you sitting in the rain?"

I stopped a few feet away from him and forced the Aura Stone to stretch out to where he sat on the roots of a tree and curve to force the water to fall further away from him.

Julius looked up at the new cover before responding in a louder tone than usual, to be heard over the rain. "This is the best point to watch the entrance to the cave without being cornered. Go back inside and sleep. We have a lot of walking to do tomorrow."

"When is my watch?"

"I slept earlier as Luna kept watch." I could just barely tell he was lying by watching his aura but did not call him out on it. He knew his limits and, hopefully, wouldn't go beyond them. To do so would probably put the mission in danger.

"If you say so. I also came out here to give you some shelter." I concentrated and forced the Aura Stone to attach itself to the tree and create a sort of awning over the sitting man. The sloped surface it had made the rain fall about two meters away from him. There would still be some that got to him, but it was much better than before.

"You're getting soaked," he remarked.

"I can use aura to dry myself off. You can't. I'll take it down in the morning. Goodnight."

I walked back through the rain and mud to the cave and used the trick with aura to rid my fur of the moisture before it set in. I felt mild fatigue from the multiple uses of my aura in the few minutes and was a bit surprised. I had done a great deal more before feeling tired in earlier instances. Maybe it had something to do with the Breaking? It was probably temporary.

I saw that Luna and Andrea occupied the other two sleeping bags we had brought with us. The thought of disturbing Leon to ask to share the sleeping bag didn't even become a consideration as he looked as though he really needed to rest. If I had woken him from the bad memories he seemed to be dreaming of, I doubted he would be able to get back to sleep. I also did not want to bother Andrea and Luna.

With my decision made, I found a spot with a large pile of leaves that I had not paid any attention to until then. They were, to my great confusion, arranged in such a way that was perfect for a person my size to be able to lay down on them comfortably. There was even a slightly denser area that acted like a pillow!

I saw that the leaves were not damp, but were instead very dry and just getting to the point of crackling at the slightest pressure.

But who had left them here? Daniel wasn't that considerate, in all honesty. Andrea was out of commission with me. And Luna wouldn't have had the time because she was busy gathering wood with another of Daniel's team.

I shoved my wondering aside to instead climb onto the bed of leaves and attempted to get comfortable. I lifted my middle up and felt under me, searching for whatever I felt poking into me. After finding nothing, I lowered back down and found that whatever was poking into me was somehow gone. I didn't spend too much time wondering about it and instead closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

'_Biiiiiiii_'

All those in the cave jerked up at the ethereal sound that echoed and reverberated through the trees, cave, and everything else. Along with the sound came waves of blue, green, and purple energy that slid over everything and was slowed by nothing. It didn't seem to affect whatever it rolled over, so I wasn't sure if it was dangerous or not.

It didn't seem to made of any sort of material or energy I had ever seen before. It didn't emit heat. It wasn't made of aura, as all the members of our group, sans Daniel, would be having a hard time functioning if it was. It didn't seem to really register as anything, as far as I could tell. It simply was. Like it was already there and we hadn't noticed it before. The real question about it, however was: What caused it to become visible?

We were all moving to stand up as Daniel rushed in and looked to see if any of us were missing. Even Luna was making her way to her feet, even if she wasn't exactly awake yet.

"What's going on?" Andrea's sleepy voice echoed through our heads.

"No idea. Daniel?"

"Julius," he corrected me and I resisted rolling my eyes to instead call the Aura Stone back to its place on my wrist. "I'm not sure. I've never seen an attack like this and I am not sure what caused it. Did any of you mess with anything?"

"We all just woke up. And is it just me, or is it starting to slow down?"

I looked at the waves of energy and saw that they were beginning to settle and fade away. I also noticed a bright light forming in the middle of our group, directly over the still-warm ashes of our fire. The light emitted smaller sparkles of light and I held my paw over my eyes to prevent it from blinding me.

The light began to fade and I looked at the green form that revealed itself from the light.

"Hey, Jacob! Long time, haven't met!" I blinked at the unfamiliar figure that came from the last dredges of light. It wasn't very big, and seemed to be floating at almost head height without actually moving the wings on its back-

"We haven't met yet, right?" The green Pokemon zoomed up to my face and I took a step back before shaking my head in a negative. I would have remembered such a... distinctive entrance and appearance.

"So my joke is still valid! Yes!" The Pokemon pumped its fist and said, "It's so hard to keep track of when I've been, so I've gotta make sure sometimes."

I took a second look at the choice of words and blurted out, "Celebi?" It was the only Pokemon I could think of who fit the description of the one floating in front of me.

Celebi, for that is who he was, nodded with a smile and flew a little closer to me.

"Yup, that's me. Celebi. Now come on! Time's a wastin'!" He laughed at his own quip before calming down and letting out another, '_Biiiiiiii_'. The same waves of energy from before appeared and it was obvious that Celebi was the source.

"What are you doing!?" I yelled above the ethereal sound, that was much more echoing and loud than what you would expect such a small creature to be able to emit.

His voice echoed in my head, as he said, "Trying to time travel here. So be quiet and enjoy the ride."

My mouth closed with a snap because of the surprise at his answer, and I could only tell Daniel was speaking due to his mouth moving. The sound reached a crescendo and I felt my body beginning to lose that wonderful tether known as gravity.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

Breath

In.

And Out.

In.

And Out.

Now go.

"Take us back," I said to the green legendary.

"No," said legendary responded with crossed arms.

In.

And Out.

"We do not belong in this time, whenever this may be. I will not have my mission compromised by possibly changing the course of history!" Not to mention possibly inadvertently causing myself not to be born in the future.

Celebi, the blasted onion fairy, floated a little ways away from my carefully controlled face and spoke some more in my mind.

"Unless you go around slaughtering tons of people and Pokemon, you won't change much. Time is both incredibly fluid, and terribly stubborn. It likes staying the same and will do its best to keep things the way they originally were. So even if you did manage to screw up badly and kill an important person with your actions, Time will fix itself. And I'll be keeping an eye on you anyways so nothing really really bad happens. Oh, and don't worry about any language barriers. Anyone who travels with me gets an automatic translator!"

He spoke in a quick and precise manner, like he had said this plenty of times before. Much like a new tour guide in charge of a fascinating exhibit. Just how often did this legendary take people through time? How many times had this small being screwed up and then saved the timestream we currently perceived? How many times has he failed to save it?

To preserve what little pieces of sanity I still retained, I decided not to ask. This mission called for a month of mandatory psyche eval after all this crap. I then stopped thinking about what would happen in the future, and focused on the... present? It was currently our present, so that's how I would refer to it when I filled out the mission report.

Arceus, I was not looking forward to that. Just this once, I envied Terry in how he did not go out into the field like I did. His reports were always much easier to write. I should know, the lazy guy usually wrote two line reports for month-long assignments and I have to fill in the details.

"So where are we?" Andrea asked, out loud.

"Persephone," I mutter in a warning tone. My orders may not have been made yet, or they may have been outdated, but they still stood goshdarnit!

"Right," she said, this time in the requested aura fashion.

"You don't need to know the time, but as to where, Nowhere!"

I felt my eye twitch at his joyous tone to the lacking answer and schooled my facial muscles.

"What is your purpose for bringing us to this time and place?"

He shrugged and said, "A whim. Someone ordered me to take you through time to another time earlier than your own, for reasons I do not feel like explaining right now, but I decided on a quick detour or two before I dropped you off."

My eyes narrowed and I had to ask. "Who is powerful enough to order the Legendary time travel Pokemon around? And why should we trust this person?"

"You're awfully paranoid, aren't you?"

"Paranoia is a part of my job description."

"..."

"That was a joke," I clarified in the same deadpan tone. Perhaps I needed to work on that skill, judging by their confused looks before I clarified. I was about to question the onion fairy when he spoke once more.

"Now the settlement is that way. Why don't you go check it out while I go and take care of something or another. See ya later!" he pointed into an area covered in brush. Which meant that, when he disappeared a moment later, I could have easily missed which way he had pointed. There was underbrush and all sorts of plant life all around us.

"Luna, scan the area for anything familiar or otherwise. Kartikeya and Persephone, stay close. Leon, make that thing stop blinking."

I found that it was becoming easier to deal with the Riolu's existence. Especially when he wasn't gold and I was barking orders. It probably wasn't healthy, relying on such a method to provide a comforting environment for oneself.

As for the blinking, it appeared to be coming from his Aura Stone. With how dim the lighting was, the blinking would inform anyone of our approaching from a good distance away. A tactical nightmare. And in a situation that I had no data available made things so much worse.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

"Would it kill him to say, 'please' once in a while?" Luna growled to me before complying with his order. I had to agree with her a little. The guy could benefit from some common courtesy. And some teachings in the art of joking... but now was not the time to bring that up. Though his aura did relax a little after giving the order, so if barking orders kept him from freaking out over the little detail that we were in the wrong time, I wasn't going to stop him.

It was only when Julius pointed it out that anybody noticed that Leon's Aura Stone was blinking quickly. Leon even gave a little start when Julius mentioned it. It would blink twice, have a very slight pause, then blink twice more. It was like it was mimicking a heartbeat with the rhythm it kept.

"What's it doing?" I asked Leon while glancing at my own, unreacting, Aura Stone.

"I don't know," Leon said quietly while tapping it and visibly concentrating. "It's not using any aura and I'm not telling it to do it. It's not stopping either!" He began to bang the bone on the backs of his paw against the Stone and I grabbed it to stop him.

"You'll probably break the bone before you make it stop. Remember that it is a rock. Let's just flip your armband around and the cloth will block the light."

I helped untie the knots in his armband and turn it so the cloth holding the Aura Stone in place was facing outwards as opposed to laying against his arm. If it was anything else, I would suggest simply storing it in one of our packs, but I knew he needed it nearby to keep up the illusion of golden fur on himself and Andrea.

"There. Nobody should notice unless you go into a darker area. What's the plan, Julius?"

"Luna, report!"

I felt her aura flare in irritation as she responded with, "No one's around. I can, however, feel the hint of a large grouping of aura in the direction Celebi pointed. That must be the settlement. What's the plan?"

Julius thought for a few moments before he pulled out a pokeball and called out Staraptor.

"Inspect the settlement ahead, observe everything and return to us for an summary report."

Staraptor nodded and said, "Roger." He looked over us a moment, making an expression just brushing haughty before taking to the skies.

Daniel acquired what amounted to a flabbergasted look-which was a single raised eyebrow by about a centimeter-to Staraptor's response and I asked, "Something wrong?"

"Did Staraptor just respond with 'Roger'?"

"Yes, he did. Why?"

"I could understand him. Luna, say something out loud."

Luna didn't hesitate long in saying, "You are an overbearing, _severely_ damaged, and socially deficient man who needs to move on from his obviously painful and mysterious past so you can live your life in a happy and healthy manner while doing something that interests you. Maybe a pastry shop?"

"..." I just wanted to know why she suggested a pastry shop, honestly.

Daniel blinked and simply said, "Yes, I can understand you. Which way is the settlement?"

"I don't think that should matter too much to you, mates." As one, we turned to the new voice and found a carbon copy of Daniel standing in a tree. The way we could be certain that Daniel hadn't suddenly learned how to copy himself was because the copy was smirking. Something that Daniel just didn't do. Ever.

"Dan-Jul-what!?" Andrea's confused voice reverberated through our heads and the Not-Daniel twitched in surprise. Apparently Andrea also projected her voice into 'his' head. We really needed to practice that with her.

"Danjul? That's an odd name. Where are all of you from? I've never met any of you."

Julius recovered from his surprised silence and said, "Leon. Does your Aura Stone remove illusions as well as set them?"

"Y-yes," Leon stuttered out. I guess he was a little surprised that Julius would address him so directly.

"Then remove whatever makes this person look like me. I want to know what my opponent is and if there is a threat."

The motion of his hand twitching upwards towards his holstered gun wasn't lost on us and Leon touched his Aura Stone and flung his paw out to the Not-Daniel. Blue mist streamed from the Aura Stone and surrounded the Not-Daniel while 'he' panicked and fell from the branch as the mist closed in and seemed to melt away some kind of purple energy that surrounded 'him'.

As 'he' fell into the bushes underneath the tree, we prepared for the possible counterattack. Luna prepared an aura sphere in both of her paws, aiming one towards the bushes and the other waiting at her hip. Julius had his pistol out and was aiming it in the same direction, the look on his face deadly serious. I had my Aura Stone transform into a sword and got into a stance that felt somewhat correct, also pointing it to the same spot. Andrea grabbed Leon and moved a little away from the fight to ensure the Riolu's safety while also preparing an aura sphere of her own. Leon had his paw on his Stone, ready to help if the chance arose. Neither of them had very much battle experience and were probably better off hanging back as support.

The bushes shivered and red claws that proceeded gray fur pushed some leaves aside with a groan.

"A little warning would have been nice. Or maybe a 'Wouldya please drop the illusion?' That hurt!" The Zoroark stepped from the bushes and finally registered the various weapons and attacks being leveled at her.

She held her arms up in obvious surrender and said, "Maybe you could put down the stuff? I was just seeing who you were. Nothing to get so worked up about. No harm caused, right?"

There was a pause where Luna and myself glanced over in Julius' direction and he lowered his pistol after a moment. He didn't holster it, so I kept my sword around while Luna had her paws ready to create more aura spheres.

"Awesome, you can call me Māyā. Who's this cutie?" All of our heads swiveled when her voice came from, not the Māyā who had her paws up in front of us, but from another who stood next to Andrea and was examining Leon. Leon was looking decidedly uncomfortable at her expression that seemed to squee without actually making a sound. The aura sphere in Andrea's paw fizzled out when the surprise of the Zoroark's closeness registered.

I glanced back at the first Māyā only to see it disappear and moved my attention back to the, hopefully, real Māyā.

Before any more questions could be asked, Māyā reached forward, presumably to squeeze Leon's cheeks and actually squee or something, and instead jumped back in shock when Leon's Aura Stone flashed. The bright flash blinded everyone who was staring in the general direction of it and I reverted to using aura to see.

I noticed that Māyā had retreated to the trees and was rubbing her own eyes with a grimace, so I was pretty sure she didn't mean to blind everyone, including herself.

I opened my eyes once I felt my vision losing the spots that still stubbornly hung around.

"Leon! Remember your assignment!" Julius barked. I looked over only to see Leon and Andrea had golden fur and both were lying on the ground and rubbing their eyes. Andrea was hit hardest by the flash due to the Aura Stone being right next to her eyes and was groaning. Leon was paying attention to Māyā and only suffered the last bit of the flash.

"It's not obeying! I don't know what's wrong with it!" Leon tapped the faintly glowing Aura Stone and waved his arm around like he expected something to make it work.

Surprisingly enough, it did. For a moment, wherein everyone looked in surprise, the Aura Stone stopped blinking.

And just as quickly, it began to give off a copious amount of blue mist that solidified into an older Zoroark who glanced around at her surroundings before looking to the trees where the other Zoroark crouched.

"Māyā! Front and center!" I'm not sure which surprised me more. The illusionary Zoroark barking orders to the real Zoroark, or the fact that the real Zoroark didn't hesitate much in jumping down right in front of the illusion.

"First off, do not dye your rival's fur turquoise. Try puce. It doesn't come out as easy and shows up even brighter. The flowers by the green river are perfect for it." Everyone, sans the illusion, blinked in surprise at the suggestion. Did these two know each other? The illusion gave a few more words of advice regarding plants, a few unknown names, and- dating advice?

After Māyā slumped over in disappointment at a certain relationship not appearing to work out, I stepped forward and asked, "How do you two know each other?"

They both looked at me and Māyā laughed as the illusion explained.

"I am Māyā. Just an older, wiser, better, prettier-"

"Oi!"

"-version of Māyā. The one who currently inhabits Leon's Aura Stone."

"You're also an illusion yourself," Luna declared, opening her eyes after apparently using aura sight.

Māyā... the older Māyā, rolled her eyes and said, "Obviously. Arceus stored my very soul into that rock. If you haven't noticed, there's not much room for a physical body. And I wouldn't exactly want the same body I died with." She grimaced and rubbed her ribs as though she felt some phantom pain by just mentioning it.

Younger Māyā grimaced at this and asked, "What do you mean? How do I- we die?"

Older Māyā put her paw on her younger version's shoulder and said, "There are some things I can't impart without messing up the future. Everything I've told you so far doesn't affect the grand scheme of things. But don't worry. In the end, you get to meet Arceus and we got the honor of inhabiting one of the Stones of Legends! The way we die, while somewhat painful, is worth it in the end. Just remember that."

The sombre moment that developed, despite the older Māyā's words of encouragement, was broken with the sudden sound of a quiet crunching.

We all looked up slowly to see Celebi floating a few yards above us holding-

"Is that popcorn?" Andrea deadpanned, asking what we were all wondering. Even Julius was thinking it, I bet. His face, however, gave nothing away. Wait, I think I saw his eye twitch!

Celebi, to answer, tossed another piece from the bucket into his mouth and nodded.

"I was hoping you would meet up in the settlement and the older version of you could freak out a few friends or something, but this works. Boss says that we've gotta go, so say your goodbyes. See you later, Mā- er, younger Māyā."

The younger Māyā waved to Celebi and spoke quickly to the older version of herself in a quiet tone. The older version smacked the younger one upside the head once or twice and stated that it was for the embarrassing moments where she would wish she could hit herself that were coming.

"Time's up! We've got to be off," Celebi said cheerfully and older Māyā patted her younger self on the arm.

"Things turn out for the best, in the end. And remember, it's never too late!" The older Zoroark reverted back to a misty and indistinct form for a moment before it was all absorbed back into Leon's Aura Stone. The Aura Stone then stopped blinking and instead glowed the tiniest amount.

'Biiiiiiii' Celebi made that sound, once again, and I waved along with Leon to Māyā as the world grew weightless. Māyā waved back cheerfully, despite not having much time to get to know any of us. I hoped that, someday, we could come back and visit.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

We felt the affects of gravity once again and looked around to see- nothing. I looked around to only feel somewhat nauseated at the shifting mass that surrounded us. It was made up of darker hues that mainly stayed around purple and dark blue. The only area that didn't shift was the ground, which stayed pitch black and solid beneath us. I have never been prone to motion sickness, but even this place set an uneasy feeling in my stomach after some observation.

"Welcome to In-Between! Please do not wander away and do not worry about Staraptor. He's already in his pokeball."

I checked and found that he was correct. But when did he-?

"Also, if you happen to notice yourselves walking around, do not make eye contact and stay on the illuminated path. You are currently outside Time and things may get a little Wibbly Wobbly."

Celebi was reminding me more and more of Terry. That is to say that I thought that Celebi was not exactly sane.

The shifting oblivion that surrounded us was suddenly lit up at our feet by a small walkway that was lit up in a bright blue. Celebi began floating along it.

Not seeing any other options, and seeing that my charges were looking at me for instructions, I said, "Just stay on the path and don't wander off. I do not know what his plans are, but do not get separated from me."

I took about seven steps before realizing that I was no longer with my charges.

"Take a seat, Daniel. We have to talk."

* * *

JACOB'S POV

We got separated from Daniel less than a minute after his order to do exactly not that.

In our defense, how exactly is one supposed to prevent a copy of Celebi from either the future or past from coming out of nowhere and disappearing Arceus-knows-where or when with him? That not something that is taught in school!

"Where did you take him?" Luna asked, looking around into our dark surrounding and finding no trace of our protector.

"Just a trip through memory lane. Relax. He's been needing to get some therapy for his past for soooo long. I think I can help him out."

"He's not going to appreciate your help," Andrea said and shuddered when she looked out into In-Between. I wondered what would happen if she threw up right where we were? Would someplace smell like vomit for all eternity? Get an unpleasant surprise in the form of partially digested berries? Leon had his gaze firmly set on the unmoving ground and looked so much worse than Andrea.

"So here's the deal," Celebi said after our surroundings changed once more. We found ourselves in a room that resembles a broom closet. Strike that. I found myself in a broom closet with only Celebi.

"Where are they!" I didn't voice it as a question when I shouted it. I was wary with just going along with whatever Celebi wanted, but that was before Daniel vanished along with Andrea, Luna, and Leon! By that point, I wanted answers. I wanted to know what was the point to all of this. And I wanted to know if everyone was safe!

Celebi put a little distance between us, as much as was possible in our small surroundings. My clenched fists, angry stature, and bared teeth made it clear that I was done with his games.

"They're safe. They are taking this much more calmly- eh, strike that. Luna just tried to smack me with a bone rush. At least Andrea and Leon are mostly calm. Oh, Andrea made an aura sphere as well." His eyes seemed only partially focused on me as he spoke.

I threw a hastily formed aura sphere at the Pokemon and began to form my own bone rush. I began to think that the girls had the right idea.

"Hold up!" I felt my body go ridged as Celebi used psychic and prevented me from moving.

"Just go along with the memory. Pay attention." He then lifted me up and pushed me towards the door. I flinched, expecting a painful impact when he did not stop. Oddly enough, I felt nothing as we passed through the door itself.

My question died unspoken when I saw just who it was walking down the hallway towards us.

The group consisted of two men and a Pokemon. He men were both in the same type of uniform-like clothes. The older man seemed to lead the way for the younger man, if how he walked a few feet ahead of him was any indication.

Even if I wasn't certain about the face and how his aura felt, the golden furred Riolu walking by his side made it crystal clear just who he was.

"Jacob, meet Daniel from the past. You are going to see what happened to make him so angry and bitter."

My gut told me that I really didn't want to see, even as my lips remained still. This was Daniel's life that I was intruding on. I didn't want to see just what would occur if he found out that I saw this.

"Are the others seeing this as well?"

"Yes."

"Good. We can die together when Daniel finds out."

* * *

So yeah. I'm back. No this story is not dead, my muse is simply having a hard time. So, because I work best with a timetable, two and a half weeks. That is my goal, at the very most. Preferably sooner.

Yo, Raven Cross. Could you please make a profile? I would really really REALLY like to tell you how my progress is going, but I can't with you being a guest reviewer.

Thanks, everybody for your support! I'm so sorry for making you wait so long.

Finally, I wish to put forth a story suggestion. Welcome to My World. By: NYSTLSportsFan. This guy's story looks like it will turn out very well and I hope you will give it a look and leave a review. Any similarities between our stories have been given the okay by me.

Big news, this story hit its one year mark recently. Big hand there.

And now the question.

Question: For those of you who live in the US, what is one place you would love to visit and why? For those who do not live in the US, if you came to the US, where would you visit? Or, alternatively, where in the world would you enjoy visiting and why?

Answer: Harry Potter, the Prisoner, and the Masked Man by tabjoy13.

Growing Strong by silencia20.

Masks and Redemption by Kwizzic.


	20. The Future Isn't Set in Stone

Return of the Cursed Gift chap 20

So... college preparations smacked me in the face like a particularly irate gorilla. Seriously, to those who are in their sophomore year or so, (even if you aren't religious) God help your souls if you do plan to attend college. The process for scholarships is brutal. I hope you enjoy what I have prepared and apologize for my long absence.

Disclaimer: I may have scholarships to fill out, schoolwork to get done, and many other things, but Pokemon is something that I do not own.

And a quick warning. There is death discussed in this chapter. To anyone sensitive to that, I'm warning you now. It's not graphic, but I'll warn beforehand.

* * *

Chapter 20

The Future Isn't Set in Stone

JACOB'S POV

"Now I don't think he'll kill-"

"We asked him what his favorite color was when we were walking and he gave us such a blank stare that we are pretty sure he thought we were interrogating him. _Yes_, he will probably end us. Can you let me go now?" Celebi was still holding me with psychic and my arms were starting to ache from being stuck in the action of creating a bone rush.

"In a little bit. You know that's Daniel, right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Good. Just making sure. You were a little out of it the last time we spoke and really needed some help with some simple concepts."

I gave him a confused look and he clarified.

"I think you had a concussion. You were muttering about what you would do to, and I quote, 'That thrice accursed Ninet- oh dear Arceus I'm gonna be sick.'

I blinked at the information and was about to question him further when he manipulated my head so it faced the group we followed.

"Enough talking! Pay attention."

"Sir, permission to speak?" Daniel asked his superior in the same kind of tone I had seen Uncle Shade speak to some of his bosses on occasion.

"Granted."

"I've noticed that everyone I've trained with is being brought in one at a time and the official records are saying that each one gets put at a new station. Is that what me and Julius are doing now?"

The man's response went unheard as I blanked out at the sound of the Riolu's name.

"Julius? Why-"

"Pay attention," a gentle tap on my head brought me back to reality.

"-I am allowed to tell you that this is a loyalty test." The man's words seemed to echo with a sense of finality. I took a closer look at the man and found that he was oddly familiar. Had I met him before?

I was jostled from my thoughts when Celebi relaxed his hold on me and let me drop to the ground.

"Stay close to Daniel. The memory will start over if you don't. I've got some stuff to take care of." Celebi held a somber tone that, if I hadn't been shaking out my aching arms, would have rung alarm bells.

He vanished and I took some large steps in order to catch up to the trio.

The Riolu, Julius, glanced back where I was and I froze. I held that position until he looked back without making any indication of noticing me. It was obvious that I couldn't interact with anything in the memory, made clear by how I phased through the walls, but maybe the Riolu could sense a sliver of my aura despite this?

I stepped out of the way of a man who rushed by with a small stack of paperwork and wondered just what would happen if I tried touching something living. After some debating and walking, I stepped up to the older man and tried to lay my paw on his shoulder.

In that moment, the world blurred and I let go to stop the nauseating scenes from flashing through my mind. Though it was for just a moment, I had seen what looked like random scenes from his life. What made them make me feel sick was that all the memories were overlapped and shown at the same time. Hundreds of images and sounds blending together in your head is not pleasant, to say the least.

Because of me not moving, a woman brushed my tail and I felt my stomach give in from the information overload. Once I was done, and stopped dry heaving, I found myself back in the closet I had appeared in before. The memory had restarted.

"So don't touch the people or you'll puke," I muttered to myself and cursed Celebi for not imparting that tidbit of information to me before leaving.

Just what was the legendary doing?

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

"Take a seat, Daniel. We have to talk."

I saw Celebi sitting at a gray table with a chair that sat high enough for him to sit with his head propped on his paws comfortably. There was one empty chair across from him and I stalked towards it.

"Where are they?"

"I'm distracting them with a few memories to keep them busy. They will be safe." The way Celebi spoke, in a professional manner and without real inflection to his voice told me that the Celebi I had seen thus far was more than likely an act.

Seeing no other options, I took a seat across from him. Despite the height difference, with me looking down at him, it was obvious to the two of us just who was in command right then. That was the phrase 'Size can be misleading' brought into being.

"Why am I not experiencing some memories alongside my charges?" It was best to start off with simple questions.

"Because I'm here to explain just why I took the five of you from when and where you were to In-Between. I separated you from the rest because this news is very unpleasant and no child should have to hear it."

I stopped glancing around at the featureless, black, landscape and focused in on Celebi. All that surrounded us was a square of gray ground that the table and chairs sat upon. Nothing else.

"Had I not taken you, your mission would have failed. From when you were, Jason Simmons would have been dead in four days time. His mother in three. Both of them with their bodies drained fully of aura. Jacob, upon hearing this information from a high ranking member of Team Phoenix, snaps. He kills the member and goes on a rampage that ultimately gets him, Andrea, and Leon killed.

"You were killed when the high ranking member first appeared due to it being an ambush. Luna survives for approximately five years, actively opposing Team Phoenix after the aftermath of the Aura Bombings that crippled most of the planet. She was the second in command of the movement and sacrificed herself to take out the leaders of Team Phoenix. It hurt the organization enough that others, seeing Luna as a martyr, joined the opposition and finally overthrew Team Phoenix."

I will admit it. I was sweating. Images in the form of photographs that showed what Celebi spoke of appeared on the table, facing me.

Jacob was laying on asphalt, shards of what looked like ice sticking out of his body and his right arm and leg mangled beyond repair. He was laying on his side because a particularly large piece of ice was wedged into his body so it was impossible for it to lay flat. Blood pooled around his body in a wide circle from the many cuts and various puncture wounds that adorned his corpse.

Andrea looked as though she had been burned to death. Most of the fur she still had was singed and any part of her that wasn't burned was sprinkled with glass. It was as though she had crashed through a window before being the target of several fire type attacks at once.

My death was simple and I bemoaned the fact. My head was twisted in an odd angle and the modest amount of blood on the right side suggested that it was caused by blunt force. Some sort of fast moving, high-density, attack?

Luna had several pictures about her. It figured, considering she was the only one to live for awhile longer. One depicted her speaking to a huddled mass of people and Pokemon, all looking haggard but determined. Another showed her breaking a uniformed pokeball-wielding man's arm. She had a scarred area on her arm that spoke of a grevious wound at some point. Each picture showed things she had done: gathering an opposition, protecting those she led, and ultimately dying for those she fought for. Her picture was of her last moments rather than after her death.

She leaned against a wall with her one good arm, the one that didn't end at the shoulder, propped against a device that was only a few seconds from hitting zero. Several people were fleeing the room and I knew that they went out with Luna when the aura bomb went off. The bloody grin she wore told me that she knew this as well.

Despite all the grisly scenes the pictures showed, it was Leon's death that caused my body to lock up and forced me to shove away every feeling I could with every compartmentalizing technique I knew, just so I didn't curl up into a ball.

Compared to the others, his death was tame. A simple bullet hole to his head that leaked very little blood when placed next to Jacob's picture. But that was the only one that really, quite truly, made my mouth go dry and affected me more so than any death had in many years.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

They stepped into a room and I phased through the door they closed in front of me. I went through the door too quickly, as my whole leg went into Julius and my world went black.

I awaited the assault of memories, but was pleasantly surprised to find that everything stayed somewhat clear when my surroundings lit up. I looked at where I was and found myself in a room with an even younger Daniel and an egg. Time seemed to speed up and a golden Riolu hatched from the egg held in Daniel's arms.

Daniel naming the Riolu Julius.

Daniel and Julius undergoing harsh training that, more often than not, left them with bruises and the occasional broken bone.

Daniel and Julius fighting other trainees and beating them down. Sometimes so badly that they weren't seen again.

Daniel and Julius bonding over years of training under the cruelest of organizations: Team Styx.

The two of them finally finishing training and starting missions. Simple missions with little margin for error, but missions nonetheless.

The both of them soon learned how to keep a blank mask on at all times, save for when they were alone in each other's company.

Each of the memories flashed by with only a few seconds for me to divine what each was about.

Then, like the end of a tape, the memories just stopped and my leg was forced out of the little Riolu. I blinked and found myself unaffected by the influx of memories like the other times. Was it because this Riolu was only a few years old compared to the people multiple times his age?

"Choose one." I looked up and saw that the three of them were across the room in front of a table. I saw that the table had several types of weaponry on it and Daniel picked up one. I saw that it was the same type of pistol he wore when I saw him last.

I had seen several memories where Daniel and Julius had gone through obstacle courses where they used weaponry and attacks hand in hand, so I didn't immediately react to the man's words when he spoke next.

"Aim at your partner and pull the trigger."

I began shivering when his words registered and I looked at Daniel, who gave off waves of emotion that I barely felt.

"Shoot your partner," the man repeated and I sorely wished I was really there so I could smash his head with a bone rush.

Daniel's head shook the slightest amount even as Julius spread his arms with a dead expression that said, "Just do it."

Daniel's hand quivered and he shook his head once again, but harder.

"Do as I tell you!" The man's calm demeanor suddenly broke and he shouted at Daniel. At the same time, Julius threw himself at Daniel and began trying to attack him. It was obvious that the Riolu wanted Daniel to do as he was told, but Daniel never so much as tilted the gun in Julius' direction as he swerved out of the way of his attacks.

"Stop! Ju-" an aura sphere unexpectedly cut off his words when he had to dive to avoid it.

The man, giving off a somewhat impatient and worried feeling, looked at the door and back at Daniel for a few moments before pulling out a gun of his own. The worry was gone. In its place was something cold and _untouchable_. Something I had never felt in a person before.

A shot rang out. Julius hit the floor.

Daniel stared at his dead partner for a few moments and at the man who just shot the one individual who had anchored him since his time in that horrible organization.

Tears began to flow and Daniel screamed as he rose his own gun at the man and began pulling the trigger with reckless abandon. The gunshots had me covering my ears in pain and I expected the man to copy Julius in laying dead on the ground, albeit with plenty more holes.

What I did not expect was the man standing there with a stern expression and untouched.

"It was filled with _blanks_, you fool. **_Blanks_**. If you had just done what I told you, same as from day one, I wouldn't have had to do that. It would have been fine. Why couldn't you have just followed my orders like an obedient son!"

Daniel fell to his knees and let out a high keening wail as a paw fell onto my shoulder.

"Let's go."

I fell to the ground In-Between and found that I didn't care about the partially sickening surroundings. I already felt sick.

"Daniel was then assigned Staraptor the next day. He was sent on a mission with the one who was partners with Houndoom, then Houndour. Once he saw that the guy was abusive, Daniel made his death look like an accident and took possession of Houndoom. He served Team Styx for several years, believing that he could go no lower after being the cause of his partner's death. He still believes that his death is almost completely his fault.

"Your father took out their leader and the WPO took apart the organization piece by piece, arresting all the members they could find. Because he accepted imprisonment without a fight, and was good during his incarceration, they allowed him to work for the WPO, as he requested. They allowed him to and he has worked loyally for many years. Do you know why he works so diligently? Why he does what the WPO says to do without hardly any questioning."

I shrugged and muttered something that sounded like a negative. I heard his response as though it came from the end of a tunnel.

"He wants to find and kill his father. His sole condition for working so faithfully for the WPO is so that, when his father is captured, he will be the one to execute him."

I wasn't that surprised, honestly. After what I had seen, fratricide looked to be a pretty good option for Daniel.

"Did the WPO ever catch him? His father, I mean."

Celebi ignored the question and remarked, "It's about time to return you to when I was told to. My boss gets annoyed when I stretch time for individuals too much."

I half expected Celebi to let out the same sound he had let out the first time we had seen him. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in a cave, standing next to Luna, in an instant.

"Go ahead and talk or do whatever for a bit. It'll be a little while before the others join you. Just don't wonder too far." Celebi vanished, leaving myself and Luna blinking.

"What did Celebi show you?" I asked Luna.

"Every embarrassing moment of your life."

"It was ba- wait, _what_!?"

Luna laughed and I could tell from the tone of it that it was forced.

I gave her a serious look and asked, "You okay?"

She stopped laughing and nodded, avoiding my gaze as she did so.

I wanted to ask if she really was alright, as her aura felt frayed and unsettled. It wouldn't have surprised me if she saw the same regarding me. She didn't give me the chance and began to look around the cave.

"This explains why I smelled those scents from before."

"Eh?"

"Well, in the future technically-"

"No," I waved my paw in dismissal of the upcoming, unnecessary, explanation and asked, "I meant what scents? When did you smell any?"

She blinked and gestured at the cave.

"I found several scents when we first came in here. They were old. Like, two or three weeks old."

I thought for a moment and decided that Celebi must have taken us to a point before we had arrived in the cave in the- future?

"Stop thinking about it," Luna patted my shoulder. "It'll just get more and more complicated. Let's focus on what we should do now."

I nodded and pushed my thoughts away from time travel, for the moment, and pointed out something that was missing.

"Where's my bed? All the sleeping bags were used so I laid down in a pile of leaves that were-will be here."

Luna snorted after a moment and said in a gruff tone that sounded like Daniel's, "You made your bed, so go lay in it." I grinned when I understood what she meant and began to walk out of the cave.

"You stay and wait for anybody else who comes. I'll be grabbing the stuff for my bed."

* * *

ANDREA'S POV

The relief I felt from leaving In-Between was banished when I realized that I only felt Celebi nearby.

I twisted around in the small hut that we were in and shouted, "Bring me back!"

Celebi raised his paws in a calming gesture and said, "They're off in a different memory right now-"

I debated the pros and cons of attacking the legendary and decided that the feeling of satisfaction would more than make up for any ramifications. So, with some concentration, I charged up an aura sphere to the wide-eyes of Celebi.

"Hold o-"

I threw it and the legendary moved out of its path. I expected it to hit the hut and for it to collapse around me. It phasing straight through had me pause.

"Are we in a hologram?" I guessed and pushed my paw through the wall closest to me. After seeing how quickly he could move, I decided that waiting and hearing him out would probably benefit me more.

"Not a hologram. This is the imprint upon time made by someone that I've isolated and inserted a secondary timestream so you can see everything."

I blinked before inquiring so eloquently, "What?"

Celebi patted me on the head and dodged my irate swat in response before replying, "Don't try to figure things out. Just pay attention. I'll be back later. Just don't wonder off."

I was about to try and pull some more details from him before he vanished and I was left alone. I looked around for a moment and confirmed that there was no one else in the small hut.

Seeing this, I left it and examined the area I had just came upon. Lucario and Riolu walked around and, for a minute, I thought I was at the Sanctuary back home. The lack of rocky cliffs and lush vegetation quickly dismissed these thoughts. The few times I had visited the place had no areas that looked like where I was. I found myself walking around. No one reacted to my sightseeing and I found myself hopping out of the way of a sprinting gang of Riolu more than once.

The village mostly were small huts made up of basic materials that had little to no non-organic materials involved. Even the Sanctuary had buildings in the village that were held together with nails that they had gotten somehow. The biggest building I saw was about the size of a small department store. I saw that there was a small crowd of Lucario, sprinkled lightly with some Riolu, standing around the building with the feeling of excitement coming from all of them.

Seeing literally nothing else that stood out, I headed over to the building and carefully walked through a wall and into a well lit hut.

"-good health and should hatch soon." A Lucario stood up from the egg she was examining and turned to two other Lucario. Somehow, from their closeness or how their auras mingled, I could tell that they were together. A look at the egg that was just examined told me that it was the couple's egg.

The scene shifted and I stumbled outside from the disorientation of it. The outside was dark and it was obvious that time had just skipped forward. I leaned back into the building and was met with the sight of the parents of the egg cooing over the newly born Riolu. A shiny Riolu. A Riolu whose aura suddenly became much more familiar when I took a closer look at it.

"His name will be Leon," the female Lucario declared to those surrounding her and the world skipped forward upon this declaration.

I stumbled and had a moment of vertigo when I found myself standing on nothing and looking down at the ground from ten meters off of the ground. The group below distracted me when a large rock was sent flying away at high speeds.

"I am here to teach you to harness the aura that all of you have been taught about previously," a bulky Lucario barked out to the small group of Riolu gathered. They were cowed by the harshness in his voice. It reminded me of a retired drill sergeant who never really got used to civilian life.

Leon stuck out from the group easily from the viewpoint above them. He was the only spot of gold among the black and blue.

After a few more demonstrations the Lucario, with an elderly Lucario watching from the side, had everyone pick a target and attempt to use the move.

I sat down when my legs began to feel tired and watched all the young Pokemon succeed and fail in various degrees for more than an hour. I knew that Riolu, at least most Riolu, were not supposed to be able to learn aura sphere in normal circumstances. Perhaps those born around the area had a higher chances of being able to learn it as opposed to most others. Something to do with their genetics?

It was right before I was about to try and take a nap, due to the boredom beginning to take its toll, that a large explosion had everyone pause and look.

A boulder that had been targeted by several Riolu had been reduced to rubble and the subsequent pieces scattered violently. Everyone looked at the once-boulder and then to Leon, who stood there awkwardly.

"Who said to stop? **Keep going!**" The gruff Lucario shouted out in the silence and everyone jumped back into action. The elderly Lucario scanned over those training, but his eyes roamed towards Leon more than anyone else.

I felt Leon's aura and saw that he was more than a little jittery from his unexpected success. A saw him doing his best to lower the amount of power in each aura sphere so that it resembled some of the others that the surrounding Riolu released. Even as he consciously lowered the punch of the attack, they were always absurdly overpowered for someone of his experience.

The world sped by and I was sitting on the ground of a hut with a crowd Lucario arguing with one another.

"That golden brat is too powerful for his own good!"

"None of the other youngsters can match those absurd aura spheres of his. I don't see you lasting long once he's evolved," one said to a sitting Lucario who exuded the sense of 'listen to me, or get out of my way.' I immediately pegged him as the Alpha of Leon's home, and looking at the Lucario's previous statement, I was right.

"And his mother is due to have another. This can not stand!"

The Alpha, who had yet to speak, stood. The hut fell silent and he announced, "Leon will be accused of stealing the aura of others to become more powerful." I may have been somewhat new to learning of aura, but even I was calling bull on that. Surely a sensible person would call him out on it?

I looked at the crowd and realized that it didn't matter if the the rest of town rebelled against the idea. The Alpha had decided on what would happen and his loyal lackeys were already wanting Leon's blood. All because Leon was simply more powerful than the rest and the leader wanted to stay in power.

The world was a flurry of motion that settled into a disturbing scene straight out of a movie. A large hut was aflame and lent lighting so I could easily see the multiple bodies littering the earth. I twisted out of the way as a Lucario was sent flying past with a severe cut in his midsection that gurgled with blood.

Leon's parents stood with their destroyed home at their backs, facing off the same crowd from before, minus the ones downed.

The battle went by in flashes if still images. His father combating multiple foes with a berserker rage. His mother breaking the leg of a Lucario who dared get close to Leon, standing next to her. His father falling first with the combined might of three aura spheres drilling into him. His mother throwing a familiar armband to Leon and pushing back the remaining attackers with a snarl adorning her face. The memory didn't show what happened to his mother, but from what happened to his father, I could guess well enough.

I floated along, tearing up as Leon tore through the landscape and ran into several objects as tears of his own obscured his vision.

"Lets go."

I was sick as my surroundings changed back to In-Between. Celebi waited patiently as I let out just about everything I had in my stomach on the fabric of not-reality. A cup of water and bucket floated next to me when I was done. I washed my mouth out and spat to rid myself of the taste.

"What the," I paused in order to dry-heave, "heck was your reason for showing me _that_? Leon would have told me when he was ready." I felt bad for intruding on his affairs, even if it wasn't technically my fault. It was morally abhorrent to me to just barge in on someone's private life. Especially if it was something painful. The only reason I wasn't completely adverse to it when it first came to Daniel was because we weren't sure we could trust him.

"A memory can only be overlapped so many times. Twice is pushing it, so I decided to give you an insight into what Leon has been through."

"But wh-"

"Reasons, stuff, and things!" Celebi snapped at me with crossed arms and I fell silent at his tone. Perhaps pushing the patience of a time traveling legendary wasn't wise.

"Fine," I relented. "But what now?"

Celebi relaxed his posture and said, "I've shown Luna and Jacob the point in time that made Daniel into what he is today."

I thought for a moment and declared, "They are _screwed_."

* * *

JACOB'S POV

I was finishing the pile that would be my bed in the future when Celebi's voice rang out, causing me to jump.

"Daniel isn't going to kill you three! Now grow a pair and go save Jacob's dad! I've got a bet running with him and I'm not about to let him win by default!"

Celebi vanished with an annoyed expression as Andrea rubbed her head with a scowl.

"Your father has a bet with the legendary time travel Pokemon?" Luna asked me. I just responded with a confused shrug. That was the first time I had heard about it. My dad had some explaining to do.

"Are you two okay?" Andrea asked after a moment of silence.

I made a more-or-less gesture with my paw and questioned her about what Celebi had shown her.

She explained that she had witnessed Leon's life, albeit in a summarized form, and we told her about Daniel. It was when we were about finished up that Celebi came back with Leon in tow.

"You three need to learn some lessons from this fella. He was so polite the whole time."

The three of us blinked and Leon grinned mareepishly at the praise.

"Now Daniel is coming next. Get ready to go." He disappeared and Leon came closer to us. I checked his aura and found that it was frayed like ours, but somehow not as bad. Our backpacks appeared at the mouth of the cave. Andrea stayed where she was as Luna and myself went to check our supplies.

"How are you Leon?" Andrea asked. I'm not sure about Luna, but I listened as we checked our packs.

"I'm fine. Celebi just talked to me for awhile and then brought me here. Where's Daniel?"

"Don't forget to call him Julius." I detected the slight tremor in her voice when she said the code name. If I hadn't been watching, I wouldn't have felt Leon's aura jump a little at the same thing.

What had Celebi told him?

"Looks like we got topped off," Luna said with a grin and pulled out a handful of protein bars and berries. A look in each of the packs told us that we had new water bottles, new food, and best of all, some bars of chocolate. It wouldn't be a far stretch to say that all of our ears and tails lifted just a bit at the sight.

"Kartikeya, report!" And just like that, Julius was back.

I stood up with my backpack on and said via aura, "All of us are fine. Our supplies have been refilled and I think we are ready to go." Apparently that was militaristic and blunt enough for him as he turned away from me and to Celebi, who hovered nearby.

"The intel and supplies is appreciated. I assume that nobody will learn of our location from your boss or yourself?"

Celebi pouted and said, "We want you to succeed, remember? Now get going. And Andrea," we all saw Julius twitch in annoyance, "give that move you've been thinking about a try."

Celebi winked at her and vanished for the last time.

Julius spoke only moments after, "Mission parameters begin again now. Prepare to head out in five."

I went back to the bed I had finished and laid down in it to make sure it was alright.

"Ow," I muttered when a sharp pain poked me. I lifted my midsection up and found a spiked leaf hidden among the rest. I was hit with a sudden wave of deja vu and shrugged it off as I threw away the offending leaf.

* * *

JULIUS' POV

Once I had confirmed that they were all unhurt as far as I could tell, I decided it was time for a diagnostic of how the mission was to proceed. That's what should be done when new details are introduced mid-mission and acquiring new orders is not possible. I stood outside the cave and ran the list of questions through my head while making sure there was nothing around that I could tell.

Is the unit well enough to continue?

Yes.

Do any of the new details create a reason to oppose/abandon the current mission?

No, because the necessary actions would be taken to circumvent them.

Are any of the new details possibly important enough to share with subordinates?

Some. I will have to carefully choose what to tell them.

Are any of the details vital to the continuation of the WPO, millions of lives, and/or the whole world?

...technically yes, but not in this reality. It is impossible to prove that this ever happened. Contacting the proper authority is also impossible. So, until the mission is complete, the details are not vital and will have to wait.

"Julius?" I turned to see Persephone walking out of the cave with a backpack on. Leon had apparently returned the two of them to their designated coloring without being told to do so. She had also spoke via aura. They were beginning to learn.

"What was it that Celebi meant?" I asked her while the rest of the group exited the cave. I noted that all of them had full backpacks on, including a smaller version for Leon.

Kartikeya, Luna, and Leon all waited with obvious interest as Persephone fidgeted.

"It's nothing much. Just something I thought up. I forgot it until Celebi mentioned it-"

"What is it?" I asked her, wanting to head out as soon as possible.

She lifted up her paw and tapped the spike as she said, "I was thinking that the spikes could be a," she struggled to find a word for a moment, "focusing agent, I guess? Just watch!"

She turned her paw so the spike was facing away from everybody and braced her right paw with her left. She visibly stilled and nothing happened for almost a minute. I was about to suggest that we get moving when the spike began turning blue. No, that's not correct. Aura was covering the spike in shivering energy. Persephone began shaking from concentration and, once the whole spike was covered with aura, she pulled her left paw back and slammed it into the back of her right.

The aura surrounding the spike flew off in a straight line for several yards before wobbling mid-air and the cone shaped attack dispersed.

I couldn't think of one instance where I had seen a Pokemon perform a move like that. And I've seen plenty of moves in my life. I wondered just how original it was when Luna asked, "How'd you do that?" Her, Leon, and Jacob were all showing a lot of interest in it.

I told them that she could explain as we walked and we began moving. Persephone must have limited the conversation to herself and the other Pokemon of the group because I heard nothing even though she made plenty of gestures and facial expressions.

It was probably for the best that I couldn't. Not like I would have understood any of it. And anyways, I needed time to think. I thought back to roughly half a month prior to the mission I was currently on, in respect to the time I was supposed to be in. I was somewhere finishing up a mission and being patched up from mild bruising if the timing was correct. Even if I wasn't, I remembered that I did not contact Cassius until the day of the mission.

I powered up my arm device and found that there was a signal available. It was tiny, but it would do.

"Stop for a minute and stay quiet," I instructed the four of them as I clicked on one of the few contacts on the device and waited for an answer.

* * *

Answer: For in the US, I would visit the Smithsonian Museum. Outside the US, I would love to visit Japan and experience the culture.

Question: If you were to be transported into the Pokemon world, which region would you want to be put in and what Pokemon would be your starter? (Must be lower level, so no Legendaries or beyond the base level of the evolutionary tree.)

Also, if anyone has a suggestion for the name of the move that Andrea has created, feel free to put it forward. I have one in mind, but I like suggestions. It will be explained more later if you want to wait and submit it later.


	21. Overlord Cassius

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 21

My excuse is at the bottom. Enjoy the journey there!

Disclaimer: Do I own Pokemon? Scientists theorize that, in one universe, maybe. In this one, however, no. I do not.

* * *

Chapter 21

Overlord Cassius

TERRY'S POV

_BZZZ BZZZ. BZZZ BZZZ. BZZZ_, a furred hand gripped the phone and moved away from the large group of dancing people and Pokemon to answer.

"Yo, Da-"

"Mission protocols are currently active," his voice interrupted me and I started over.

"Yo, Julius! What's up?" I twisted under a waitresses' serving tray, winking at her after straightening up, and moved past the bar to get to the door of the club I had been partying in for the last hour or so.

A few people did some double takes upon seeing me walk out of the bar. Most would say it was my Pokelistic features gained through Team Styx's tender clutches, but I still maintain it's them hating on my awesome Hawaiian shirt. I like it.

"I assume that music was a bar. Are you fit to work?" Julius knew of my partying habits. He also knew that I could take care of myself and be ready for a mission even at inconvenient times.

"I've had a few drinks-"

"Define 'a few.'"

"Six," I admitted. "But I am still able to function well enough." Pokemon DNA, surprisingly enough, gave one remarkable alcohol tolerance as well as recovery. Hangovers, in one of those incredibly rare times that a group manages to drink me under the table and not in reverse, typically only lasted for a couple hours before fading away as a terrible memory.

I was expecting Julius to silently debate for a few minutes and stumbled a little when he simply said, "Very well. Get home and prep for an Overlord style mission." My eyes widened and I grinned when I heard that.

"Understood. Heading home now. Taxi!"

* * *

JULIUS' POV

I put the device in sleep mode and took it off of my arm once the conversation ended.

"Overlord style?" Leon questioned.

"It means that I will be in the field while he relays requested information across a secure channel and works to keep us out of sight." I took a moment to release Luxray from his pokeball and set the arm device on his back. The battery needed charging and the excess static electricity he gave off charged the device only a little slower than an actual charger. It was pure luck that Luxray had been out of his pokeball when I had been looking at a new mode of communication-as my old one had been introduced to a boulder from a Pokemon's attack-and the employee had remarked that some of their devices allowed static electricity to refill the battery.

"But won't you being in two places be a problem for him?" Kartikeya pointed out. Thankfully, I had already considered the problem.

"I am either on a mission or recovering from one at this point in time. Cassius wasn't-isn't with me at this time, so he shouldn't realize it until later that I'm not where I'm supposed to be."

"Huh?" Luxray blinked in obvious confusion after hearing Julius' explanation.

"Long story short: we traveled through time roughly seventeen days before our deadline." I had almost let the upcoming demise of Jacob's parents slip before replacing it with 'deadline.'

Perhaps not the best term for the situation, now that I think about it.

Luxray spent a few moments processing this before shrugging and accepting it.

The four others seemed surprised at Luxray's simple acceptance, but quickly fell quiet as they spoke among themselves.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

I concentrated, carefully pushing my aura to cover the spike on the back of my paw. Blue began to appear at the base of the cone and climb for a few millimeters before dispersing completely, not moving any further.

"Look!" My head whipped around at Luna's voice and I scowled when I saw that one of her spike was covered in blue, seemingly solid, aura. Once Andrea had explained it to us, we had both tried it ourselves and found that it was much more difficult than we thought it would be. It kept us plenty busy as we walked. But, after trying a great many times, Luna finally was able to make the shivering aura coalesce into a more solid state. She managed this after almost an hour of walking.

Luna explained how she got the aura to solidify and moved on to trying to launch the cones at trees that we passed by as well as wild Pokemon that came too close. Andrea managed to solidify the cone well enough after Luna's explanation, but had to stop after beginning to feel the drain on her reserves. Luna followed suit soon after.

I, on the other hand, kept going. Even after two uneventful hours of briskly walking through that reserve, I could only form a wiggling mass of aura around my spike. And I could only manage that much when we had stopped to rest and I had concentrated for five solid minutes. The moment my concentration wavered, the aura dispersed and I would have to start over. So, as far as combat-wise, it was not useful. Even Luna, who had done the best out of the three of us so far, could only use it against lower level enemies with how far she had gotten it.

Luna's biggest issue, she claimed, was putting enough force behind the projectile to make the damage caused worthwhile.

"Why not have Jacob propel it?"

We paused in our debate of how to make the move work when Luxray spoke up.

"I mean, I don't know much about aura. But from what I can tell, I think it would work."

The three Lucario of the group considered this and Luna eventually shrugged.

"Can't hurt. Let's try it."

I moved to Luna's right side and she slowed down a little to concentrate on forming the cone around the spike. I waited for her to nod that it was ready and put my paw to hers. I spent a moment preparing the aura before pushing it roughly through her paw and into the spike on the other side.

Good news. The spike did indeed go flying at high speeds into a tree. It put a big enough dent into it that we all found that the move would be very useful once we got it to work.

Bad news. Luna's arm dropped to her side and she gripped her right paw with a loud whine moments after.

"Crap!" I exclaimed out loud and Julius turned around from looking at the newly damaged tree. Perhaps we should have warned him that we were planning to try out the move. He only took has hand off of his gun when Persephone told him what had happened and the reason behind why Luna had reacted how she did.

"What went wrong?" I questioned Luna, via aura after Julius gave me a warning look.

"I was stupid. I forgot that you've never learned about neutral aura. Slipped my-don't touch it!"

I aborted the motion and instead asked nervously, "What do we need to do?" I didn't see anything physically wrong with her paw, and I couldn't sense any large amounts of aura that could be drained away. Heck, I was almost certain that 90% of the aura that I pushed into her had gone through and dispersed on the other side. So I reasoned that it couldn't be an overdose of aura, much like what I had gone through.

"At the moment, nothing. My body just has to adapt the small amount of your aura into my reserves. Let's keep going." She began to walk and the rest of us, Julius aside, scrambled to catch up.

"Are you still able to fight if we come into contact with hostiles?" Julius questioned Luna.

Luna waved her good paw in a so-so gesture.

"No attacks that involve aura, but I can still fight." Julius looked at her for a moment longer, as though he was judging her truthfulness, then turned away.

"What happened?" Luxray asked. I noticed that his aura was giving off an air of distress. I guess he blamed himself for what happened, seeing that it was his suggestion in the first place.

Luna noticed it as well.

"Not something you would have known, Luxray. So don't worry about it." She patted his back a couple times with her good paw before moving on.

"Because none of you grew up among Lucario, I'll start at the beginning. There is regular aura that lingers in just about everything, including stuff that isn't alive. Some call it natural aura or nature aura. If you are sensitive enough, then you can easily feel it in the air when several people get close together.

"Every living thing has aura, though most can't actually utilize it. When someone is born, they start out with almost completely pure, natural aura. I say _almost_ because you do have small hints of your parent's aura already instilled in you when you are born. It's as you age that the aura begins to become more personalized to you. Your personality, lifestyle, even your surroundings affects your aura. Eventually, usually after many years of growing, your aura begins to take on less aspects of outside interference and becomes unique. It becomes a way for others to recognize you.

"Your unique aura can actually be transferred to others if their aura meets certain conditions. If they are family, then it's almost guaranteed to transfer well. If they are someone you have grown up with and are close to. Or if their unique aura is a close enough match to be transferred without much trouble."

"But we're practically siblings," I argued. "Shouldn't you be, I don't know, okay?"

"You would normally be right. The thing that makes it so that we can't is that your transformation into a Lucario changed some aspects of your aura. It made it different enough that I can't accept it properly, but similar enough that anyone can still tell that you are you."

"What about mine?" Persephone asked. "Did my aura change?"

Luna shrugged and said, "I can't say how much it changed when you first transformed because we hadn't met before then. I do know that it changed a lot after we tried to turn you back human. It became more," Luna sought the right way to describe it, "more like Jacob's, actually."

Persephone blinked with surprise and Luna nodded.

"I think, now that I consider it, Jacob could probably transfer aura to you if we needed to. I wonder-"

Luna was cut off by the ringing from Julius' arm device. Luxray, who had been uncharacteristically quiet until his suggestion, moved closer to Julius so he could grab it off of his back.

"Julius here."

"Cassius prepped and ready. I noticed that your com device giving off some strange signals. It says it's in two separate places-"

"Disregard the second signal. We need infor-"

"We?"

Julius twitched and said, "It's hard to explain, but I have four others with me. I've stumbled on some new intelligence that suggests that Team Phoenix is going to be making a move in seventeen days. It is of the utmost importance that we remain unseen by anyone that may present a problem."

Cassius had a moment of silence before he cheerfully declared, "Sounds fun! Who else is there?"

Julius tilted the screen so that it faced us. Leon waved.

There was a few seconds of surprised silence before he said, "Uh, Julius? What happened to your crippling fear of Lucario and Riolu?"

Julius gave the smallest flinch before responding with, "Never mind that. The male Lucario is Kartikeya. Female Lucario without the Riolu is Persephone. Other female is Artemis. The Riolu is Aurelius. They know that you are Cassius."

"I'm okay with that alias," Luna-no, Artemis said via aura. Julius did not react, so she must have not included him in it.

Aurelius. That meant golden, didn't it? And Artemis (the goddess) was linked with the moon, wasn't she? It seems that Julius was feeling rather punny right then.

"Nice to meet you all!" He waved and the black fur covering his forearms shifted with the motion. The light glinted off of the claws as he waved and they seemed pretty sharp. The light also revealed facial markings that gave his face a bestial tinge. If he didn't have that grin and it was in a dimmer lighting, he may have been a frightening figure. His elongated and sharper-than-normal canines didn't help matters.

The thing that killed any scary vibe from him was his loud yellow Hawaiian style shirt. Nothing truly malevolent could stand to wear such a bright shirt.

We got introductions, reintroductions for us, out of the way quickly before we resumed walking.

"Search around the areas that I'm going to mark for any activity that hints at Team Phoenix. Report back only to me. Comb the frequencies for any unusual communications as an extra precaution."

"Hmhmm," I heard the sound of a pen clicking on the other end and he said, "Got it! Anything else? Oh! I forgot to submit the report from last we-"

"Forget it," Julius said with a sigh. "Just submit it along with mine once this is over. The estimated end-time for this mission is about seventeen days. Unless you've got something else, I think we are done."

"Hmm, nah. I'll call if anything comes up."

Julius ended the transmission and put the device back on his arm.

"You mentioned that before, to Luxray," Persephone remarked. "What happens in seventeen days?"

She was right. What was going to happen then? Was it something that Celebi had told Julius?

"New information has changed the current mission. In seventeen days, Team Phoenix will be making a move. Jason and Hannah Simmons must be extracted before that point."

Seeing as Julius wasn't exactly giving a straight answer, I wasn't sure what to think of his words.

"Why? What happens after that time?" Leon-no, Aurelius asked from the back of Luxray. Arceus, these aliases were a pain.

"It's above your pay-grade," Julius shot back and turned his attention back to where he was walking, ending the conversation.

Uncle Shade had said that to me once or twice. It meant that I didn't have the clearance for whatever it was that I wanted to know. The military uses the expression often when it comes to classified material. My dad, because he worked so much with Uncle Shade and Mr. Rick, had a higher clearance level than most civilians. I, on the other hand, did not.

"He's hiding something from us," Persephone muttered via aura. I checked and was relieved that she had remembered to not include Julius in the conversation. I smiled at the progress she was making. She'd been a Lucario for so short a time, yet she's already getting basic aura-related abilities down and is in the process of inventing a new move.

"I bet Celebi was the one to tell him. Daniel did thank him for the supplies and-what was it? The Intel? Yeah."

"It's Julius. Don't forget it."

Three of us stumbled in surprise at the new voice and looked over to see Luxray grinning in a proud manner. We had heard it in our heads, not outside. I waved away a curious look from Julius and turned back to Luxray.

"So this is what it's like to talk in your own head and let other people actually hear it. Echooo. Echooo!"

"It's only echoing because your voice is like that," Leon said with a mental deadpan.

Artemis recovered next and said, "Persephone must have brought you into the conversation on accident."

Persephone looked embarrassed and said, "Sorry. Could you not tell Julius about the slip-up?"

"My lips are sealed-er, whatever counts as lips in mental conversation. Just drop me from this conversation. Julius expects me to help him in keeping an eye out for threats and I can't do that if you are chatting in my head."

"Now how do I do that, L-Artemis?"

Artemis spent the next few minutes explaining the process of removing someone from the mental conversation. The easiest way I could describe it is that it felt like there was a strand of something connected to Persephone, which then connected to anyone who was a part of the conversation. I felt the strand shrink just a tiny bit and the presence of Luxray vanished.

"Luxray?"

Since he gave no visible response, I was pretty sure Luxray had been removed from the conversation.

* * *

"Kartikeya!" Julius suddenly barked out in the silence, causing everyone to prepare for an attack.

"Ah, no immediate danger. I just need to speak with you. Luxray, you've got the group."

Julius walked faster and Luxray had everyone else slow down. I sped up to Julius, who returned to a normal pace when he was roughly fifty meters ahead of the group.

"Something wrong?" I asked. I saw Persephone beginning to send out her senses before I went to Julius, so I knew she would shout if there was anything wrong enemy-wise.

"If you come in contact with any hostile Ice-types, you are to retreat at once," he ordered in a low tone.

"What?" I responded in an equally low voice. If he didn't want the others to hear, then there might be some reason for it. I could easily tell them later.

Julius gave me an annoyed look that I blinked in confusion at. What was so bad about Ice-types?

"If you see an Ice-type, then I want you to run. Use Extremespeed or something to get away. Exercise all available caution."

"O-kay?" Again, what was his malfunction regarding Ice-types? Lucario were not super weak against them and we weren't headed anywhere that Ice-types could be naturally prominent.

So what was wrong?

"Why? Does it have something to do with what Celebi told you?"

I felt a ping of surprise off of him and added, "You thanked him for the 'Intel.' Something tells me that it's something a little more important than what you're letting on. Does it have anything to do with my mom and dad?"

Julius didn't speak for several steps. His aura seemed to ponder something heavily before coming to a decision.

"It did have something to do with your parents, yes-"

"What is it!?"

"You don't need to know!" Julius rounded on me and fixed me with a gaze that halted my next words.

"Celebi told me that information with the trust that I would use it to keep you three alive!" His aura was practically brimming with emotion that was held in check. But something about his wording bothered me.

I blinked and did a quick count.

"You said 'three.' What about the fourth one?"

Julius realized his mistake and turned back to the front.

"Send Persephone up next."

I thought about continuing to question him, but I felt his aura. The way his face was set reminded me of how Uncle Shade would get when I was younger and would ask questions about his childhood. My mom or dad would typically steer the conversation away from that area quickly.

Well Julius' aura reminded me of how Uncle Shade felt, even if I couldn't actually feel Uncle Shade's aura during any time I had ever asked him.

So I turned around and walked back to the group, sending Andrea up to him with a word.

I gestured for Artemis to hold her questions and our group walked in silence as Persephone and Julius conversed quietly ahead. I couldn't hear anything more than indistinct whispers.

Persephone joined us and Artemis finally said, "Spill it, you two!"

"He warned me to stay away from Ice-types. He also said that whatever Celebi told him had to do with my parents." I refrained from mentioning the 'three alive' thing.

"He told me to run from any Fire-types that might attack me," Persephone said, her confused tone mirroring my reaction to the news.

"What is up with those warnings? And why doesn't he have one for me?" Artemis asked. I was wondering that as well.

We walked for awhile longer, stopping to eat for a short while and refill our water from a stream we stumbled on. After battling a few water types-more like Luxray fried them all in an instant-we kept going.

"We are close," Julius said from ahead before his arm device rang once more.

"I'm blind," was the first thing Cassius said, causing worry to spring from just about everyone.

"All the conventional sites and frequencies are okay, but anything above or below that is locked out. I can't see or hear anything in the areas ahead without hacking into the police's security feed."

"And what did you find?"

Persephone's concerned look at the bad news turned into even more concern when she heard Julius' obvious expectation that he would have already hacked them. One of her relatives, an aunt or something, was an officer. Persephone told me how she, her aunt, had the job of keeping out hackers because of sensitive information held on their networks.

"That this place is stupidly peaceful. The biggest crime in fifteen years has been some large amount of property damage when some guy wanted to make a circus out of solely Electrodes. I watched the video. It was surprisingly well done, until one exploded. The camera feed stopped soo-"

"Cassius," Julius interrupted. "What else?"

"I'm piggybacking on their cams and ran a facial recognition scan for any know felons or wanted persons."

"Results?"

"No one that is too suspicious. A few thieves and some on watch lists. I did, however, find one woman who is known to have connections with Team Styx, years ago. One with a background in _biomedical studies_. Can I?" His tone turned somewhat pleading at the end. I could understand, seeing what Team Styx had done to him.

"Just set her up with a speeding ticket or something. Nothing very grandeur."

I could feel Cassius' grin, even without seeing the screen.

"Of course," he about purred. "Now will you need any supplies or a ride through the city?"

"Ah, that would be appreciated," Persephone piped up. She wasn't the only one whose feet were beginning to ache. Artemis had better stamina than the rest of us, but even she was beginning to feel the effects of walking for so long.

"Keep in mind that Team Phoenix would not be specifically looking for us at this time," Artemis added.

"Maybe a hotel for the night? Leave really early?" Andrea went on, Daniel still seemingly unconvinced.

"It would allow us to rest and get those pokeballs," I commented and his resolve wavered.

After a full minute of deliberation, he nodded slowly and said, "Two rooms. Right next to each other, preferably connected. Disable any possible tracking software while we are there."

"Got it!"

The line went dead and we went on.

* * *

Getting to the hotel was interesting. Julius had Aurelius turn me into a Gallade and Persephone into a human.

Julius knew how noticeable a group of Lucario, plus one Riolu, would be. One Lucario is an interesting thing to see. Two is surprising. Three? Now that's something to take note of.

So what Julius did was split the group into two. Artemis was with Julius, who had returned Luxray.

Aurelius sat on my shoulder and tried to not look like he was concentrating hard at holding the illusion of a Gallade over myself and another illusion of a normal human female over Persephone. He turned himself invisible.

We would enter the city just a little after Julius and Artemis and keep them in our line of sight whenever we could.

That was the plan, anyways. What we didn't expect was a little kid challenging Persephone to a battle after only five minutes of walking. Persephone had to quickly turn him down and I had to growl at him a little to make him run.

Who the heck thinks it's a good idea to give a child the ability to battle and annoy everyone else? I used to not care, but I was quickly beginning to see why my friends complained about it so often.

Julius arrived at the hotel and got the room keys while we came in close after, Aurelius having turned our group of three effectively invisible before entering. According to Aurelius, unless someone ran into us or something hit us and stuck, we wouldn't be detected. His Aura Stone did dampen sound somewhat, but anything louder than a step would be heard. We also couldn't move too quickly or move too far away from him without the invisibility becoming less effective.

We met outside of the room that Julius whispered to us before getting in the elevator. We had to take the stairs as we couldn't risk anyone brushing against us in the enclosed space of the elevator.

Persephone complained for a great deal of it and I wasn't disagreeing with her.

I knocked on the door to the room and Artemis opened it a moment after, allowing us in. Her eyes were a little off of where we were and I could tell when Aurelius dropped the invisibility.

It was mainly the blue mist that faded into existence before being sucked back into his Aura Stone that told me, but Artemis' eyes widening a little was an extra hint.

A small, thin object sailed towards me and my paws fumbled with it for a moment before Aurelius latched onto the card when I hit it up to his level.

"Thanks," I mumbled when he passed it to me, grinning at my epic fail.

"Sleeping arrangements will-" Julius began to speak, but was quickly cut off by Artemis.

"Us four in the other room with you in here. You need your rest and you'll rest best if you are with your team. No one is after us, yet. We won't leave the room or anything."

Julius appeared to think about it before finally nodding.

"But Swampert will be in the room with you," Julius said.

"Deal!" All three Lucario in the room said, as one.

Julius blinked in surprise at our unplanned synchronicity.

* * *

"Daniel, Leon, Jacob, Luna, Andrea, Daniel, Leon-"

"What are you doing?" I asked a quietly chanting Persephone, who was messing with some stuff in her pack.

"I'm going to savour this while I can! Daniel, Leon, Jacob, Luna, Andrea."

I ignored her and scooted past a snoring Swampert to get to the bed. He had gotten his orders from Daniel-

"Now you've gotten me doing it!"

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

From Julius. After he got his orders, he went right to sleep where he set himself on the ground. It was going to be a pain getting to sleep over those snores.

The room that we were in had two large beds in it. Leon and Artemis were sharing one.

Guess who was in the other?

Yup. At first, I was going to volunteer to sleep on the floor. But it quickly became apparent that Swampert took up the only location that would have been big enough for me to sleep. Every other spot was just a little too small for me to rest in any form of comfort.

So we shared the bed. I took the right side, closest to the snoring water type, while Andrea-Pe-

Actually, you know what? Maybe it was my very tired mind demanding this, but I was going to begin using their actual names in my head whenever possible. Having to remember those stupid aliases was exhausting.

Andrea was on the left. Right before I flipped off the lamp, Luna gave me a suggestive look and I glared at her before sending the room into darkness.

I was wrong. I had absolutely no trouble getting to sleep.

* * *

*throws Undertale excuse out there and dives into bomb shelter.*

Haha...so...Undertale became a slight obsession of mine recently.

A 28K words obsession...dang plot bunnies...I got dunked on...

Please feel free to PM me if you have suggestions/requests/questions. Reviews are always a joy!

**Rocker on (Guest): **I am glad you do not have a profile, cause I'm pretty sure you'll get me to 400 on your very own with the rate that you post reviews.

**Answer: **I wouldn't really care which region. Starter, however, I would care about. I would adore having a Riolu as a starter, but I wouldn't mind a Bulbasaur or Treecko.

**Question: **Any of you get new obsession recently? (Speaking of obsession, how many of you would enjoy an Undertale fic?)


	22. Triangulation and Boredom

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 22

You all expected a chapter on Easter? Ha! Nope! Instead I waited a bit longer to post on my second anniversary of being on this site. Yup. Two years have passed since I joined up. I feel like an old-timer now.

Something I just noticed: this is chapter 22. This is the second year I've been a part of this site. This chapter's number is made up of TWO TWOs. I just found this immensely amusing for some reason.

But yeah, hope everyone enjoys this chapter. If you've been wondering where Lucy has been, well, you'll see.

* * *

Chapter 22

Triangulation and Boredom

JACOB'S POV

Warm. I was hanging on that rare state of perfect waking that one could achieve only every so often. You know? The state that you are just so warm and content and your pillow is just so perfectly placed and not a single part of you is too cold or too hot? When you wake up at just the right speed and everything?

That's how I felt, waking up that morning.

I didn't open my eyes, content to simply allow my mind to wake up on its own and having no desire to hurry it along.

I could hear the snores from Swampert, which had quieted a little from last night. Luna's and Leon's slow breathing to my right, Leon's being a little harder to pick up. And then there was Andrea's breathing to my left...

It sounded way too loud for her being on the other side of the bed.

I didn't want to try to sense her with aura, as that would have taken more brainpower and effort than what I could summon at the time. With some reluctance, I opened my left eye and blinked a few times to get used to the dim lighting coming from the rising sun. A quick glance told me that it was 7:36. I was surprised that Daniel had actually allowed the sun to rise before we did.

I finally looked to my right and found why Andrea sounded so close. It's because she was close. Laying-on-my-extended-arm close. That probably explained why I couldn't feel my left appendage below the elbow. Thankfully, my spike was pointed down. Even more thankfully, the sheets were extra tough and weren't being poked through by the spike.

She was laying on her shoulder, facing away from me. I was on my back and her tail lay across my stomach. Mine was trapped under my back and was asleep as well. It was so weird to not be able to properly feel the appendage.

I considered just relaxing. Just laying there and letting Andrea and everyone else wake up naturally.

But my bladder said otherwise. I told it to just wait.

It told me that we had half an hour, tops.

I let out a slow, frustrated breath and began the process of extracting myself. I began inching my arm out from under her, moving slowly. Her breath changed pitch and I closed my eyes and went limp. I wasn't sure why.

Her tail twitched against my chest and I had to hold in the urge to laugh. The ticklish sensation continued as Andrea woke up, the process not taking long at all.

"Morning," Andrea said when she saw me open my eyes after she had turned over, wiping the grit from her eyes and removing the tail from my stomach.

"Morning. Uh, would you get off of my arm?"

Her eyes blinked at me blearily and she looked at my shoulder before following where it went.

"My bad," she apologized while lifting herself up and allowing me free reign over my mostly limp limb.

I nodded at her and extracted myself out from under the covers as quietly as I could to avoid waking the others. After taking care of my business, and massaging some sensation into my sleeping appendages, I came back to see Andrea repressing laughter.

I began grinning when I saw that Leon, who was awake, was stuck in a cage made up of Luna's arms.

I connected to Andrea and the poor Riolu before asking, somewhat unnecessarily, "Are you stuck?"

"Every time I move, she tightens her grip!" he exclaimed, somewhat hysterically in our heads.

Andrea began laughing into a pillow and I chuckled as quietly as I could.

"Give me a minute. I'll get you out."

I rummaged through Luna's pack and found what I needed. It was a tool I had used a great many times before.

"Is that a toy Mareep?"

"Say 'hi' to Ri," I waved the stuffed Pokemon towards Andrea and moved over to where Luna was holding our resident Riolu hostage.

"Hold your paws out so I can grab them," I instructed Leon while moving Ri close.

He held his paws just a little outside of the cage of her arms and he latched onto my paw.

"Push off quickly when I say so. Ready?"

Leon nodded and Andrea watched on in interest, hugging a pillow to her body as she sat on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed and an expectant grin.

"Now!"

Leon pushed off and I tugged him out of Luna's grasp. At the same time, when her arms began to contract at Leon touching her arms on his way out, I placed Ri in the spot that Leon had vacated. Like the Venus fly trap, or a very snuggly Carnivine, her arms closed on the Mareep toy and her expression smoothed over.

"Woo!" Andrea cheered in our heads as I set Leon back down on the edge of our bed.

"It looks like you've had to do that before," Leon noted.

"I've had to save a great many Riolu from her cuddles. Narri and Pip began warning others when Luna slept over in their homes. She's been known to sleepwalk a short ways, into other rooms sometimes, and cuddle with others." I was glad that Narri or Pip stored Ri in her bag. They had probably seen this coming and I was glad for it.

Andrea and Leon both laughed loud enough to finally wake up Swampert, who then asked what we were laughing about. His deep chuckles joined ours at the story. Luna still slept, unperturbed.

"I'm going to go see if Julius is awake," I made sure to say the stupid alias since Swampert was in the conversation and I didn't feel like getting scolded. Even if Swampert was probably the most relaxed one on Daniel's team, he would still keep to mission protocols, probably.

"Just hang some food in front of her nose and she'll begin to wake up," I advised before opening the door to Daniel's room. My eyes adjusted to the dimmer lighting, courtesy of the heavy blinds on the windows, automatically.

Ninetales picked up her head and looked at me from her position on the bed. The other bed was devoid of the human I was looking for. Luxray and Houndoom were still asleep with Houndoom on the edge and Luxray almost halfway across the bed, like he had migrated from the edge towards her. The way the sheets were bunched up made it seem like he had moved sometime while he slept.

The other members of the team were either in their pokeballs or out somewhere.

I prayed that Mismagius was among the first group.

I created a new connection with Ninetales and asked, "Where's Julius?"

I expected her to say something about him going out to get supplies. Or stepping out to do something top secret or whatever.

I didn't expect her to respond with, "Under the bed."

I blinked and waited for the punchline. Then I remembered who, exactly, we were talking about. I got down on my knees and peered under the bed. Houndoom woke up and glared at my closeness, but did not react beyond climbing off of the bed and stretching. Luxray didn't react and kept sleeping.

Daniel's open eyes stared right back at me. He held his pistol in his right hand and a knife in his left.

I waited for him to say something, or react in some manner.

Then I realized that his breathing was slow and he wasn't blinking.

I stood back up and looked back at Ninetales.

"He's asleep."

"I know," she said, her tone satisfied. I had a feeling that this was, somehow, her doing.

"I thought he was the kind of guy to wake up three hours before the sun? And that he has terrible sleeping patterns?"

"He does. I turned off his phone after sending Cassius a message to not worry."

"How'd you manage that?" I asked, pointedly looking at her paws. I had enough trouble typing on phones and I was bipedal with two paws able to easily hold things.

"Very carefully. Now wake him up, would you?"

I decided to go to the doorway before I connected with Daniel.

"It's Kartikeya. Time to be getting up."

You could tell when he woke up by when his aura, which had been almost invisible among the other, more active auras, suddenly became the most noticeable thing in the immediate area.

"Report," was all I heard before he began moving out from under the bed.

"We thought it was about time to wake up and see what you wanted to do."

Daniel looked at the time and glared at Ninetales. She grinned in the face of his annoyance. Something told me that the two of them had played that song and dance before.

Instead, Daniel away and I noticed that his thumb pushed at the safety of the pistol, but it didn't move.

"Was the safety on?" I asked, a bit worried of the answer.

Daniel's brow furrowed.

"It was."

I'm not sure how I felt about him sounding confused of the fact. Did he expect to switch the safety off during the night? I decided to change the topic for my own well-being.

"The gun and knife I can understand. The open eyes, sure. But why under the bed?"

"It was too comfortable."

I rose what passed for my eyebrow.

"Keep in mind that I have spent more of my fair share of time out in the field and then years in prison. My sleeping habits aren't exactly the norm."

I could, sort of, understand what he meant, so I dropped it.

"I will have Cassius send breakfast up to our rooms. Have Aurelius put the human disguise on Persephone and do not allow anyone see the rest of you."

"Got it. How do you feel?"

Daniel turned to me with such a blank look that I quickly said, "Never mind! I hoped you had a good rest."

I was on my way out when I heard him mutter, "The best one in years."

I didn't react to it and told the others the news.

* * *

Luna was munching on a berry, eyes still bleary from sleep. We had finally gotten her to wake up and Andrea, who Leon had disguised, had some difficulty trying to balance all the food that was passed to her from the hotel employee. She brought the plates in and divided the delicious food around to everyone.

Berries and protein bars were good and all, but hot, steaming breakfast kicked those out of the ball park, any day.

"Why did you get Ri out?" Luna asked, the toy Mareep stored back in her pack once we managed to wake her up.

"You got a hold of Leon," I said to everyone, sans Swampert, via aura. Swampert had already finished his portion and was laying back down for a quick snooze.

"Hmm," Luna acknowledged my answer and continued eating. Andrea snorted at Luna's lack of reaction while Leon rolled his eyes.

"You haven't done the tracking thing in awhile," Luna remarked, a few moments after.

"You're right. Just a moment." I scarfed down what I had left and set the plate aside. I had not used the tracking orb since before Celebi had sent us into the past. I worried for a moment that our time travel escapades would negatively affect my ability to use it until it appeared, azure and misty as ever. But there was something very wrong.

The problem was the way one of the dots was pointing and its tiny size. Like, as tiny as when we had started. And facing the wrong way.

"What the heck?" I stood from the bed and barged into Daniel's room. Daniel was field strip cleaning his pistol and looked up from it when I came in. Ninetales and Honchkrow, the only other two out of their pokeballs at that point, also looked up from their breakfasts.

"This says that one if them are in the direction that we've come from. Shouldn't it be facing the opposite direction? You know, the one we've been headed?" The other dot, which did face the right way, was actually pretty big. In any other situation, I would have addressed that fact first.

Daniel continued to clean some component of his pistol while his brow furrowed in thought.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" a childish voice, one that I hadn't heard until that point, spoke and I looked to the other occupants of the room. The voice was obviously from a male, so that cut out Ninetales. Daniel-I almost doubted that Daniel was ever really a kid. (I just sort of imagined a really intense baby that evolved into a slightly more intense adult, much like how Pokemon did.) And I had heard all the other members of his team speak at one point or another.

So, by the process of elimination, the voice came from the shiny Honchkrow in the room. I had not really spoken with him much before and the surprise of it sounding so young made me take a moment to reply, "What is?"

Honchkrow smiled. It wasn't a grin of condescension, or even one of those kindly grins that elderly folk gave, but an innocent smile that seemed so out of place on the elderly purple Pokemon.

"If we traveled through time, then it makes sense that your mother would not be here yet. Team Phoenix probably hasn't even captured her yet."

I froze at the words.

"Why don't we just-"

"No," Daniel quickly cut me down. "You are _not_ to disrupt time by tipping anyone off to what is to come. She needs to be captured so that you run, I am hired to find you, and we get to this point. If something-anything happens to change this, then we might fade from existence. I will not have this mission become _any more **complicated**_!"

Daniel's voice became frustrated on that last statement. Something told me that time travel wasn't covered in his training.

Then again, where would one receive training for this kind of situation?

"Alright, I won't mention anything. But what should we do in the meantime? We have sixteen days until that mysterious something occurs to my parents. How many days before she gets captured?"

Daniel thought for a moment before he said, "Three days, approximately."

I clenched my paws and shifted in place, dropping my paw once I realized that the tracking orb had vanished once I had stopped concentrating.

"What are we going to do, then? My dad's dot is pretty close, I think. Are we going to lay around for three days until my mom arrives?"

I had said the last part sarcastically.

"That is exactly what we will be doing."

Daniel did not say that sarcastically and I had a problem with that. A big problem indeed.

"But they could be doing Arceus-knows-what to him while we sit around!"

Ninetales coughed to catch my attention before she said, "If we move too soon, even after she's been taken, then they might bring your mother elsewhere, outside of our reach. When we began, the dot for your mother was indistinguishable from your father's, right?"

I nodded an affirmative to her.

"Then that means that they will be in the same place. We just have to wait for that time."

I grit my teeth and growled out, "Fine."

"It doesn't mean we won't be doing nothing," Daniel picked up another part of his disassembled pistol and began cleaning it.

"We will have to confirm the position of your father and Cassius will be doing his best to find where they might be. Are you familiar with the term 'triangulation?'"

I was. Uncle Shade had taught me about it. Well, told me about it. I knew only the basics. He had told me that they had done something very similar with Narri to find my dad.

This city didn't happen to have a mountain anywhere, did it?

"So we are going to go from place to place and try to figure out the approximate location?"

"Exactly. Cassius will be digging through the city's records and finding out where they could be once we use you to find the vicinity they might reside in."

"Everything alright?" Luna's piped up from the doorway, pushing her way into the connection I had made with everyone in the room.

I explained what was going on and she had about the same reactions as me, including the uneasy acceptance at the end.

"So when are we leaving?"

A knock on the door interrupted whatever Daniel was going to say. Luna and myself stepped back into our room, closed the door, then promptly pushed our ears against it to listen.

"What are you-"

"Shhh!" we both said, hushing Andrea so we could listen. I made a note to apologize later after feeling a bout of irritation roll off of her.

"Yes?" Daniel's voice came through, faintly. Those hotel walls did very well in muffling sound.

A fainter voice, the one outside the door, said, "Three pokeballs for a Mister Cassius?"

"Yeah, thanks. Lump the charge with the one for the rooms."

"Of course, sir. You have a good day!"

Daniel must have gave some sort of nonverbal response to the cheerful employee, because all we heard was the door closing. The next second, the door we were against opened and we, Luna and myself, stumbled to catch ourselves from falling forward.

Daniel raised his eyebrow at us while we took some steps back. He held up three shrunken pokeballs and enlarged one before asking, "Who wants to go first?"

* * *

"Get out of there, Kartikeya," I heard Daniel order moments before the world brightened and I felt hot concrete below my feet.

"Where are we?" I asked, taking a few steps from the edge of the tall building Daniel had traveled to.

"Ten blocks down from our last position. Go ahead."

I nodded and brought out the misty orb, shielding it with my free paw to prevent the harsh winds from dissipating it. Daniel looked closely and noted how big the red dot was and where it was pointed on a tourist's map that Daniel had snagged at the hotel. It had several other dots and arrows of various sizes and lengths pointing on it already from where Daniel had taken me and I had done exactly as I did there.

At first, I was horrified to find myself on the tall building and a cheerful Honchkrow waving to me.

Let me clarify: I wasn't horrified at Honchkrow's cheerful waving, but at the fact that Daniel had flown up onto the building with me in the pokeball.

Somehow, the pokeball kept the negative impact that flying usually had on the tracking ability away and we were able to fly in a grid-like pattern around the city. Daniel would fly a certain distance, with me safely in the pokeball, and he would let me out once he had landed. I felt a building's worth of stress lift off of me when the orb appeared the first time after appearing on that building.

Going in and out of a pokeball was, quite plainly, rude. Relaxing in the comfortable darkness when, suddenly, "Get out of there," precludes being blinded by the midday sun and possibly being knocked over by harsh winds.

The popping sound of a pokeball came from Daniel and a beam of energy formed into a shiny Riolu who stretched his body out. He placed a paw on his Aura Stone and flung it out around himself before Daniel told him to do so. A newly un-shinied Riolu leaned over the partially written on map and asked, "How is it going?"

Daniel tensed a little at Leon's close proximity, being less than a foot away from him, but did not move away any.

"We have confirmed that he is being held in the city."

"Somewhere underground," I added. We had discovered that, no matter where Daniel set me down, the dot was always pointed just a little down rather than mid-level or so. Even at ground level, the dot was angled downward.

"I've just confirmed that there is some high-energy readings in the area south, south-east of you," Terry piped up from Daniel's device. Daniel had left it on so he could report their location to Terry and he could disable any cameras that happened to be pointing in our direction at the time. Leave no trace and all that.

"That's what our data supports," Daniel agreed after glancing at the map and where the arrows pointed.

Daniel and Terry spoke for a little bit while I turned my attention to Leon.

I changed the connection so that it was only with Leon before asking, "How are you able to get out of the pokeball?" Leon and Andrea both had popped right out of their pokeballs right after that final click had sounded. Andrea had minimized it and glared at it for a bit before giving it back to Daniel, who stored then away.

Leon had to be talked into allowing himself into being captured. Even then, it was Luna who had to be the one to bump him with the pokeball. His deep mistrust of trainers and his instinct to run had his opinion of pokeballs running low. So, because of this, he quickly figured out how to get out of his the moment he allowed himself to be captured.

I, on the other hand, did not have that luck. After the harsh red warning blinks in the darkness, I couldn't figure out a way to get out. Andrea had said something about it involving her pushing and I hadn't had a chance to ask Leon until then.

"You just sort of," Leon made a gesture with his paw that resembled grabbing a doorknob and pushing the door open. "I can't really describe it. You think about it, then you just do it."

Leon shrugged helplessly, unable to describe it. I nodded and thanked him, sighing silently. It wasn't so much that I didn't care for being in the pokeball, like Andrea and Leon. I found it somewhat relaxing, if entering and leaving a bit unpleasant. But the ability to get out of pokeballs seemed useful on its own. If Daniel couldn't spare a moment to let me out, then I could do it myself.

"Kartikeya, Aurelius, return." And then I was back in that darkness where the outside world was but muffled sounds that I could ignore if I so desired.

I felt myself came out of the pokeball and was tackled with a hug and a certain Lucario moaning, "_Booooored_!"

I sighed and pushed Luna off me onto the bed to our left, where she flopped down bonelessly. Daniel had evidently returned to the hotel and passed the pokeball over to Luna, who had let me out. It was hard to feel the passing of time when you were in a pokeball. Anything shorter than an hour or two felt like a few seconds at most.

"How'd it go?" Andrea asked, sitting up from her relaxed position on the opposite bed where she had been watching television. It was some contest, I think, and Andrea didn't seem to care too much about it.

"We've figured out that my dad is somewhere underground. Like I've been telling him since yesterday," I muttered and sat myself on the edge of the bed a little to her left.

The day previously, Daniel had gone by himself and only took me outside late at night. Andrea, Leon, Ninetales (who Daniel had left behind to keep an eye on us), and myself did our best to keep ourselves, and Luna, entertained.

Luna did not do well with being in such a small area for so long. She was way too active to be cooped up for any length of time. She kept herself occupied by meditating (which lasted all of half an hour), watching television (which actually kept her captivated for a good while), and searching every nook and cranny of the two rooms. That last one had the rest of us rolling our eyes at her antics.

Luna's inability to sit still aside, the day before I had guessed that my dad was being kept underground, but Daniel said it was unwise to jump to conclusions.

It felt good to be right. It felt even better to know that I would be able to do something about it soon.

Leon let himself out of the pokeball that sat on the nightstand and he joined Luna on the bed, both of them groaning. Neither of them enjoyed being inside small areas for long periods of time, apparently. Leon could, from what I understood, feel the passing of time while in pokeballs as much as when he was out. That was so unlike my own experience in the device. And they didn't seem claustrophobic, as far as I could tell. Just opposed to sitting around in enclosed areas for too long without doing something.

"That's good!" Andrea said, smiling at the progress. "Your mom should be captured sometime tomorrow right?"

"Right," I confirmed it, having mixed feelings about the fact. On one hand, it was my mom getting captured. On the other, it meant that I could finally help my dad. Or at least do something more than fly around and act as a living triangulation device.

"Did _anything_ interesting happen while you were out?" Luna asked, her tone almost pleading that something did.

"Nope. Nothing. Sorry." It was too bad that her pokeball was back home and we couldn't let her outside without having Leon disguise her. And while this wasn't that difficult to do, Daniel didn't like the risk involved.

After we had confirmed that we were, in fact, near a Team Phoenix base, Daniel had gotten a lot more edgy. His eyes were roaming constantly, looking for threats. He was more demanding and cold than usual, not even bothering to keep up any sort of small talk that didn't have to do with the mission.

He actually made a small kid cry when we had gone around a corner and the kid caught a look of his stoney visage. At least, I'm pretty sure it was Daniel's cold expression. It could have been something else. My money was on it being because of him, though.

We watched a little television and wasted time talking when all of our heads turned towards the door to the room, from which a knock had just came from.

Leon grasped at his Aura Stone and sent the blue mist towards Andrea. Once she was properly disguised as a human girl, and we had hid from the sight of anyone looking in, Andrea opened the door with a, "Ye-Wha?"

"Tell your boyfriend that I'm here to cash in that **Favor** he owes me," an unexpected, but familiar voice purred from the hallway and my mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Lucy!?" I exclaimed and leaned over to confirm that, yes, the Ninetales was standing outside the door.

"Who else?" Lucy snarked as she walked in and Andrea closed the door behind her.

We got out of our hiding spots and sat down on the bed opposite of the one that Lucy had claimed. Ninetales, Daniel's Pokemon, gave us a questioning look and I gave a quick explanation about who Lucy was and that she had disappeared at the same time as my mom.

This prompted an explanation for Lucy about how we had time traveled a bit and how exactly Lucy was where she was.

If my mom was to be kidnapped today, why was Lucy here? I was pretty sure I had seen her at some point earlier in the day, in the original timeline.

"Some punks tried to snag me when I was out for a walk," Lucy began. "They caught me off-guard and knocked me out with some sleeping powder when I found a whole bunch of them just hanging out in the woods. Stumbled onto them, actually," she admitted, grimacing at the truth.

"Then I woke up in a cage with someone touching my tail."

I shivered and edged away from the vulpine Pokemon. Despite her somewhat ruffled appearance and tired eyes, her tails were as immaculate as ever. Ninetales own tails shifted at the news but did not react otherwise.

"One daring escape-involving four screaming humans, three human-turned-Pokemon, and one Pokemon-turned-human, later, Celebi showed up and, uh," Lucy hesitated, considering what she would say before finally blurring out, "He dropped me off at the edge of the city. Said something about you being in it and for me to deliver a message."

"Why didn't he just tell us himself?" Leon asked.

"I asked him that," Lucy muttered. "Guess what he said."

None of us actually guessed, so she said, "He said, 'Now it wouldn't be as dramatic if I just show up and tell them, now would it? You do it. Tell them to hold off one extra day or everything will go wrong.'"

I waited, then asked, "Is that it?"

"Yup," Lucy nodded. "Nothing else. Just left a moment later and I headed into the city. I was lucky enough to notice you getting sucked into a pokeball on the top of that low building and went in the general direction that I saw that guy fly. Seeing as you aren't asking to be rescued, I guess that you are working with him?"

"The WPO sent him to find and protect Andrea and myself-"

"And does not like to finding unknown Pokemon in his assignment's room," Daniel finished, stepping into view through the door that connected our rooms.

"Mission protocols are still active," he reminded us and I internally winced, realizing that we had been speaking out loud ever since she had come in. At least none of us had said our actual names during that time. He was a stickler for those aliases.

"Lucy here," I began, via aura this time, "lives with my family. Celebi br-"

"I heard," he cut me off. "It seems that we will have to wait an additional day. I will inform Cassius. Stay in here. All of you." Daniel leveled his stare at Luna, who had been caught trying to persuade Leon to disguise the two of them so she could get some fresh air. Ninetales had caught them and told Daniel before Leon could decide whether to help or not.

Once everyone in the room had given some sort of acknowledgement, he went back into his own and closed the door behind him. Once we got over a minor awkward pause at his sudden appearance, we continued talking and telling Lucy what all we had been up to.

* * *

HANNAH'S POV

I kept my paws far from my tail, or more accurately, the itchy cloth covering it. I had cursed several of the people that broke into my home the day before using it and they didn't forget that easily.

My time spent as a Ninetales in my youth almost made it possible for me to escape. For a short while, the confusion I had sown in the ranks with my curses wrecked havoc among the grunts. It was almost funny to see the men that defiled my gorgeous tail tackling their comrades, convinced that they were me due to the curse I had given them.

Double team certainly didn't make this any easier for them. My copies were tackled, only to have the tackler slam into a wall or some other hard surface. I was glad to have spent the time figuring the attack out.

I nearly slipped out of the house, intent on running to the woods and finding Lucy, when a hand gripped my arm. The resulting tug sent me straight into the paws of a Psychic type Pokemon. I found myself next to my husband, Jason, moments after.

Some would think that his changing into a Lucario would make recognizing him difficult or impossible. Those who would think that obviously never had the benefit of having lived with the person in question for a better part of their lives. Despite it being so many years since he had been a Lucario, it was easy to see the subtle hints that told me that it was my Jason.

He was laying on a mattress, breathing slowly and obviously asleep. That was my first hint that something was wrong. Jason was a light sleeper at the best of times and my sudden appearance would not have gone unnoticed.

I spent a short while shaking him and calling his name. I even tried connecting with him using aura. I'm not sure if it was because of my lack of any amount of training in the art, but I got no response from him regardless of what I attempted.

I managed to curse the first few people that came in with food or for whatever purpose. After the faint hum grew, making me weak and Jason's breathing grow haggard, did I comply with the next person's demands and put the covering over my tail. I quickly figured out that they, the ones at the controls of the machine, would up the power if I so much as reached in the general direction of my tail.

I was leaning against the mattress, the only one in the room, doing my best to control my breathing. It had been almost a day and already my body felt painfully dry. The faint trickle of my aura was whisked away every moment and the edge of my vision boasted black spots.

"We even lowered the power, yet still you are almost unconscious," a new voice broke me out of the daze I had fallen into. I lifted my head, the task far too difficult for its typical simplicity, to look at the man that was standing less than a meter away.

I felt a bit of happiness at the faint annoyance I heard in his tone. If I managed to inconvenience him in some manner, then that was a win in my book. Who knew I could be vindictive?

"I suppose all that other aura must be hiding somewhere with your son," he speculated in an idle tone.

Body tensed and face drawn into a snarl, I barked, "Stay away from him!"

He smirked and I did my best to push myself to my feet. I couldn't use any attacks that could possibly hurt him, but the spikes on the back of my paws could cause a painful cut. My legs and arms shook far too much and I collapsed to the floor, breathing as haggard as Jason's when they upped the power.

"Oh I will certainly ignore that, once we get a hold of him. I must admit, I did not expect my underlings to be so incompetent and let him escape to that Lucario settlement."

My heart rose at the news. Narri and Pip would keep my baby safe. The village knew him as one of their own and wouldn't allow anyone to just stroll in and take who they wanted.

"I suppose that I could look at the silver lining and say that at least this is another opportunity to gather Lucario while we grab him. Maybe I should thank him before turning the machine that will kill the three of you on maximum."

He didn't have a smile when he said this. He didn't grin or sound amused. Despite this, I could tell he felt pleasure as he said those words. I felt disgust for the man-the creature in front of me. He casual disregard for three lives, two of which people I loved, had me finding energy where I couldn't previously.

I screamed, my limbs slamming into the cement floor hard enough to create cracks in order to send me speeding for the pathetic specimen. I never felt such delight from someone's shock-and dare I say fear-than when I sprang towards him and sent my paw, specifically the spike on it, headed towards his neck.

I fully intended on ending his life.

Imagine my surprise, the total shock of having my attack stopped cold and merciless eyes staring right into my own before the owner of those eyes kicked me down next to my husband. Energy spent, and wasted, in the failed attack, I couldn't keep my eyes open and felt the world go black while the new person spoke to the gray haired creature that I failed to hurt.

"Don't expect a mother not to retaliate when their young is threatened, sir."

"Didn't expect that," the forced non-concern in his voice was too obvious.

I felt triumph, however small, that I could make that freak feel fear.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

The night before, everyone had come out of their pokeballs and gathered in Daniel's room with a hand-drawn map of the city and its sewer system laying on the table we were huddled around. Terry had found the blueprints for the sewers and passed them along to Daniel. Daniel then explained the plan.

The gist of it was this: "Stay with me and do exactly what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it." Throw in a few (fourteen, actually) contingency plans for if (when, according to Daniel) things went wrong, and that was basically the briefing. Add in Meganium bellowing out a war cry in anticipation for the fight tomorrow and Mismagius trying to slip away in the confusion it caused and that's about everything that happened before Daniel dismissed us to bed.

"You okay?" Andrea asked, standing in the doorway of the bathroom and letting out a yawn. Luna, Leon, and Swampert had already went to bed. I stayed up just a little longer with the excuse of brushing my teeth. I did, actually, need to brush before going to sleep. It wasn't my real reason, though.

I spit out the water I had swished around to clear out the remnants and spoke quietly.

"I'm fine. Just," my words trailed off. I didn't know what I felt about tomorrow.

We would be heading into a criminal organization's base where people were, presumably, using my parents like batteries to create _bombs_. Both my father's stories and the history books told me that Team Styx had tried to use my father in that fashion once before. It wasn't a farfetched assumption that Team Phoenix would do the same. The expression 'great minds think alike,' could be changed to 'evil organizations think alike' in this case.

To say I was nervous would be an understatement. 'Pre-battle jitters' didn't do the shaking feeling in my stomach justice. I couldn't let Andrea know this, however. Luna had, when Andrea and Leon were distracted, asked me if I was alright. Andrea didn't have enough experience to pick up on the feelings that I was externally hiding, but Luna didn't have that trouble.

I told Luna I was fine and she dropped it, heading to bed soon after.

I lied to Andrea and told her that I was fine and that we needed to rest up in preparation for tomorrow. I don't think she believed me, but still went to bed.

"Everything will turn out fine," I whispered. Whether it was to Andrea or to myself, I'm not sure.

* * *

Well? How'd y'all like it? Leave your thoughts in the reviews, if you please.

**Answer**: Undertale has become a mild obsession of mine. One that's been toned down just a bit with a quick six-chapter story that I wrote. It honestly isn't that good. After I finish this story, I'll probably go back and fix it up. I wrote it all in three weeks, so it didn't have all that much effort put into it. Feel free to check it out if you are a fan of the game, Undertale or just want an interesting read.

**Question**: I want theories! What do all of you think is going to happen next chapter? Or, alternatively, what do you think will happen after everything is said and done? I'm honestly curious.


	23. Angel With a Machine Gun

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 23

This chapter was difficult to write, but mainly because there were some big decisions that needed to be made. And so, I hope you all enjoy this!

Also, if I haven't said so, then I want you all to know that I will be starting college on the 31st of May, three days after graduating High school. This means that my writing time will be severely cut, but I will write when I can, I promise. This chapter's title is loosely based off of the song Angel With a Shotgun. You'll understand why later. :3

Disclaimer: if I owned Pokemon, do you really think that I would be attending college?

* * *

Chapter 23

Angel With a Machine Gun

JACOB'S POV

Everything started out well enough. Terry found a way into the base for us to enter from. Daniel had declared the necessity for aliases lifted for the purposes of making no chances of confusion in a pivotal moment. According to Swampert, there had been some instances where appointed code-names had cause confusion in the middle of operations. Daniel knew that we couldn't afford that in this instance. Speaking aloud was allowed once more for the same reason. Despite our proficiency in speaking via aura, it still took longer than simply speaking.

It felt oddly nice to have my name back. Luna and Andrea felt the same while Leon was indifferent about the matter.

I caught Andrea and Luna both chanting their names at least once.

But as I was saying. Everything started out well. We had gained entry to the underground tunnels via the sewers.

Let me note that sewers aren't as clean as television makes you think. It _stank_. There were Muk and vermin Pokemon everywhere. Those of us that were able to be put into pokeballs abandoned Daniel, Lucy, and Luna to their stinky fate and were let out after they had entered the base.

Both Luna and Lucy glared at us as we edged away from them, able to smell the residual stink that stuck to their fur.

"Use your tracking ability. We need a direction to be heading," Daniel ordered me and I complied.

I forced the orb to appear and, upon scanning its surface, declared, "Now that's a problem."

My orb was as steady and misty as ever. The thing that caused me to say what I said was that the dot was instead a faded circle with lines of red pulling away from its center. The lines merged together at other locations to form their own circles of red. It made things, as I said before, a problem.

"Those are probably the batteries that are storing the aura that gets drained from your parents," Daniel explained.

"Why didn't we see this when we were on the surface?" I asked, cancelling the technique.

"We were possibly too far away to notice the difference. We have gone underground quite a ways since then. Now is everyone ready to move out?"

Various noises of affirmation were heard around the small, dimly-lit room that Daniel had us huddled in.

"Leon," Daniel looked to the Riolu.

I noted that Daniel did not flinch, wince, or otherwise make a negative reaction upon looking at Leon.

A moment was spent in silent celebration at this. Apparently forcing a man into close proximity with the species that caused him many years of chronic nightmares can, indeed, help the problem!

(Though anyone that dared force me in the same room as a Skitty would soon have to replace the window I would be escaping out of.)

"How far can you extend the invisibility?"

Leon thought for a moment, then walked to the corner of the room.

"About this much," he walked halfway to the middle of the room, creating a box that was about two meters by two meters. Not enough room for us to move around without being chest to chest and making too much noise, which would nullify the benefits of invisibility.

"Any further and it breaks down," Leon explained.

Daniel frowned at this and asked me, "Can your Aura Stone do some hocus pocus and extend the radius?"

If I had a faintly insulted look on my face, then I wouldn't have been surprised.

"It's not _magic_," I muttered, then answered, "I doubt it. Mine changes shape. His does illusions. Whole different ball game. I'll be able to send mine out to attack people without exiting the invisibility myself."

I'm not sure why he was complaining. My Aura Stone popped the manhole cover out of place with almost no effort on our part. I knew that those things were heavy.

"Fine. If the moment arrives, then you can use your Aura Stone to take down any target that I am unable to handle. We will go with plan three dash B to begin with."

He was met with blank stares from the Lucario in the room while the other two Pokemon either rolled their eyes or thought furiously, trying to remember what that plan was.

The teenagers of the room hadn't even tried to bother remembering all of the plans. There had been too many and we had given up. I remembered one or two, but not that one.

Daniel picked up on this and clarified.

"You four will remain invisible while Lucy walks with me."

"Oooooh," the rest of the room said simultaneously, to Daniel's irritation if the twitching eyebrow was anything to go by.

The best thing about Team Phoenix, if anything about it could be considered '_good_,' was that its members were more discrete in moving around in public. Team Styx had actually made their members wear jackets with their identifying symbol blazing across it. (Not the best policy for avoiding detection.)

Team Phoenix was more practical in that the symbol wasn't immediately obvious. It might be a small patch on the shoulder or maybe something equally as small.

This gave us an advantage in that Daniel could pass as a member reporting in from the surface long enough for him to get close. For the mission, Daniel had turned his jacket inside-out so that the inverted Team Styx symbol was not visible. It would have been embarrassing to be busted simply because we forgot about an obvious detail.

* * *

We, Leon, Andrea, Luna, and myself, were huddled together with our shoulders touching and Leon perched on my shoulder. I stood in the middle with Andrea on my right and Luna to my left. Luna was holding my arm as we walked, her eyes closed and senses scanning ahead. Leon kept his paw on his Aura Stone and I could sense the thin layer of aura keeping us unseen.

"Two men are coming out of a connected hallway ahead on the right," Luna informed the group, via aura. Daniel gave the slightest motion of understanding to let us know he had heard her. Daniel's footsteps easily masked the sound of our own in the quiet hallway. (I had a feeling that he was purposely making his steps emit sound.) The part of the base we had entered in from was deserted aside from some pest Pokemon and the occasional cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling and the walls.

Luna let us know that we were getting close to an area with a large amount of people and Pokemon roaming around. My tracking technique told me that we were not exactly close, but getting closer, to where my parents were being held. Heading in the correct direction, at least.

We could hear the two men talking as they went around the corner and headed down the way that we were going. Both of then had machine guns hanging from straps around their necks.

"Hey! You know the rules," one of the men said once they noticed Daniel and Lucy, pointing at the duo.

"Eh? Sorry, I was just transferred from basic training yesterday," Daniel rubbed his head and though I couldn't see it, I'm pretty sure he was making a sheepish face.

The fact that actual, human inflection was in his voice when he said that surprised all of us. If we couldn't tell that he felt nothing as he said this, we would have been as convinced as the guys getting steadily closer.

One of them groaned out, "Newbies," with a shake of his head. The other listed out in a brief and well-rehearsed fashion, "Pokemon are to be outside their pokeballs whenever ordered, or in the appropriate areas, only. Exceptions are made at the decision of the higher-ups. Put her away immediately and we'll forget about this."

We had gotten close enough so that the two groups, Daniel and Lucy and the two guys, stopped with a meter of distance between them.

"Aww, but Lucy doesn't like going into her pokeball," Daniel whined (actually _whined_) and rubbed Lucy's head. Lucy outwardly appeared to enjoy it but the guards didn't care. The one that groaned stepped forward into Daniel's personal space.

That was foolish of him.

We felt Daniel's intent to harm, an almost physical thing to our senses, and I sent my Aura Stone flying forward at the same time that Daniel moved and pulled the magazine from the gun while kicking the man off balance. Before he could shout, Lucy wrapped one of her tails around his leg and cursed him unconscious.

My Aura Stone covered the other man's head, making him grasp at his face and let out muffled screams while dropping his gun. My paw was extended towards the man's head, keeping the Aura Stone in place, and I relaxed it after Lucy sent him to dreamland. The Aura Stone returned to my arm as a bracer while Daniel stored the two of them in a deserted side room. Lucy smoothed out the tail she had used before waiting patiently with the rest of us.

"Let's continue," Daniel declared, his voice giving no indication that he had just done something violent. My heart was still pounding despite not moving from the spot I had been in. I hardly noticed the drained aura that I had used to make the Aura Stone move and change shapes.

"We are about to enter the area with a bunch of people and Pokemon in it," Luna informed the whole group.

"We're also getting close to one of the areas where my parent's aura is being stored." I pulled up the tracking orb and found that is wavered and seemed more misty than normal. Like it would disappear if I supplied just a little less aura. I pushed more aura into it and it formed into its normal style of misty.

A large orb of red was nearby, located somewhere to our right. Wisps of the aura that was poured into the tracking orb seemed to be pulled, almost by an invisible wind, in that direction.

"Holy crap, I'm glad we are invisible," Andrea whispered mentally to everyone, though she was obviously referring to the four of us that were unseen.

The room we entered opened up on four levels. There was the 'ground' floor, which is where we were making our way into the middle of, and then the other three levels. A single pillar, which appeared to also serve as an elevator shaft, stood in the middle. Short walkways connected the shaft to each floor.

The other three floors did not have walls closing them in from the ground floor and we could see a little ways into each one, though steadily less as the floors got higher due to our angle.

I felt a bit of distress come off of Leon before he said, "Guys, there's a problem."

Just as he said that, I noticed that I could see our shadow, just a bit of it. Before, our shadow wasn't there. For it to be visible-

A low-level grunt, or maybe someone more important, said, "What the heck?"

And that was all it took for the mist to visibly reappear and get sucked partially back into Leon's Aura Stone. I saw the the rest as it floated away, much like my aura had with my tracking ability.

And there we were, three Lucario and a Riolu, standing in a building full of members tasked with finding and kidnapping our exact species, visible as the sun. Two of which golden as said sun.

"Execute contingency plan X," Daniel declared reaching for the pocket that held all of his teammates and his pistol.

I remembered that one, but asked for clarification, just in case.

"Blow through everything?"

"Blow through everything. Team, come on out." Daniel's team, every member, appeared around us in a rough circle, facing outward.

With the sudden appearance of Daniel's team, the room came out of its state of paused movement in an explosive manner. Daniel shouted out orders while Lucy got closer to us and sent her own attacks flying at the enemy.

"You three, move!" Daniel pointed at a doorway with the hand that didn't have a pistol in it. We jumped to it, abandoning our triangle formation, where we stood firing off aura spheres to sprint across the room. The room was filled with the sounds of screams, gunshots, and Pokemon attacks.

A loud siren began going off, adding to the sheer cacophony that the situation had become. All four doors on the ground level, including the one Daniel had sent us to, began to close slowly from the top. The shooting from behind us, from Daniel, specifically, cut out.

I turned and saw that he was quickly making his way across the room to the closest door, which happened to be the one to the right of the one we entered from. We were headed for the door to the front, straight towards my parent's signatures.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

Everything went downhill far faster than I had expected it to. I suppose that it was my fault that I had not accounted for the fact that the Aura Stone's abilities ran off of, what do you know, _aura_! The same thing that was being sucked up somewhere in the base. I had planned for invisibility to fail the closer we got to Jason and Hannah Simmons and react accordingly, but **not** in the middle of a room full of hostiles.

It was a mistake to trust an object that I didn't fully understand not to fail at the worst time. It was best to know all of your equipment's failings by heart.

Yet another bullet whizzed by me. I sent my own along the same general path, if the wrong way, and only mine hit its intended mark.

Ninetales, Luxray, and Houndoom traveled about the ground floor, getting close to the enemy and taking them down when they couldn't use their guns for fear of friendly fire or sending them ducking for cover with long range attacks. Mismagius teleported about and pushed hostiles off the higher floors as well as caused general mayhem for everyone that wasn't an ally.

Swampert was the only one to stay next to me, his incredibly thick skin serving as perfect cover as he acted as a living shield slash weapon. He stuck with long range attacks while protecting his throat and eyes, which were the only two really sensitive areas that would be in trouble if they were hit by bullets. Each bullet would felt like a painful sting, but nothing that he couldn't deal with.

Staraptor and Honchkrow flew about, both dividing the enemy's attention between us and them.

And then there was Meganium.

Meganium was having the time of her life.

I'm serious when I say that.

**"YEAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! IS THIS ALL YOU GOT!? HOW'S A FRENZY PLANT SOUND TODAY!?"**

If whoever survived that day didn't develop a phobia of grass types after that fight, I wanted to congratulate them myself.

Then shoot them. Maybe double-tap. Just to be safe.

My charges stood with their backs towards the center of their group and fired away. Andrea and Leon took to the defense role with the both of them using protect and Leon doing what he could to confuse the enemy with his Aura Stone. It wasn't much, but it made many unsure as to where we were really standing as a great many shots were aimed at an area a good ways away from us.

The siren went off right after I sent the five of them headed towards the exit of the room. With where I was, I knew I wasn't going to be able to make it to the door I had sent them to in time. I also knew that staying in that room would only put me in an early grave.

"Let's be headed over there," I told Swampert, who immediately began moving. I ran alongside him, shooting anyone that I could who had a line of sight on me. I signaled my team to head towards me as I ran. Blood sprayed with almost every pull of the trigger and jerk of the pistol. It was a familiar routine.

Aim, pull, aim, pull, aim, pull. Reload once the clip runs out and repeat. Simple and effective.

Also something I expected and knew how to work with.

Now the sudden appearance of a certain shiny Riolu was something I was not necessarily used to and it almost earned me a bullet to the knee when I shoved him behind my living cover.

"Here!" I turned my eyes over to Leon, but it turns out that he was directing the shout towards Jacob and his group, who were on the other side of the door that was steadily closing. Leon had thrown an Aura Stone, Jacob's. It zipped to the Lucario in question and slipped under the door at the last moment.

My own door was being getting close, but was held open by Swampert.

I shouted for the team to return when they got close enough and stored them all away before Swampert let the door slam shut. I could feel Meganium's irritation and battle-frenzy through the pokeball, barely contained by the years of discipline that came with being a member of my team.

The first thing I did, after letting the two back out, was have Ninetales and Houndoom use fire attacks to fuse the floor and the bottom of the door together to keep it from opening.

The second was to turn to Leon, who flinched at the irate expression I had going on.

"Explain your actions."

He rubbed his armband nervously for a moment, then said, "I told Jacob and them that you wouldn't have anyone that would be able to direct you towards his parents or anything, so he made his Stone get me over to you very quickly."

I processed this in a moment. I had seen that thing move incredibly quickly, so I supposed that the Riolu had been in a minimum amount of danger throughout the maneuver. His explanation was also logical. Aside from a general direction, I was not sure where his parents would be.

"Very well. Now, which way is closest to where their aura is being stored?"

Leon was quick to pull some aura out of his Aura Stone and fling it out into the air, allowing us to see where it was pulled to before he re-absorbed what was left.

"Good, let's move." I began to move quickly down the hallway, Houndoom and Ninetales following close behind, when I noticed that Leon wasn't close behind us. A glance told me that he was limping and that some blood was coating his fur.

The world became more ridged. I had to close my eyes and force myself to think rationally for a moment, something that was usually almost effortless for me.

"What happened?" Thankfully, Ninetales took the incentive while I was forcing away my memories of the past.

The images of golden fur colored crimson was beaten down in my mind forcefully.

"I think a bullet grazed my leg. I didn't want to cause trouble."

Memories of a similarly colored Riolu being so stubbornly accommodating towards his partner were treated like the other memories. My memories of patching up my past partner were most certainly not thought of while I did the same for Leon's leg and placed him on my left shoulder.

The same place that an unnamed Riolu sat, long ago.

I allowed a minute shiver to run through me before my mind was, once again, as analytical as I needed to be right then.

"Now that it is taken care of, let's go."

As we walked, I dialed Terry's number and was glad that I was able to get a signal that far underground.

"What is it?" Terry asked, all business. He knew that we were in a combat situation right then and wouldn't be cracking up until he was sure that we were alright.

"Call in reinforcements and make it snappy."

"They are on their way."

* * *

JACOB'S POV

My Aura Stone slid under the door right before it slammed closed. Luna wasted no time in destroying the key-card swiper with a bone rush. We had no idea if it would slow them down, but we hoped that it would. If the sounds from the other side were any indication, then we definitely wanted them to be unable to get to us.

"What's the plan?" Luna asked, letting her bone rush fade.

Surprisingly, Andrea was the first to answer. Her face was cast in shadow as she smiled and said, "Why, we continue onward and _crush every last one of these pests _until we find Jacob's parents, of course."

She gave off such a feeling of malevolence that Luna and myself took a step back. Behind her, it seemed as though shapes writhed and contorted in a unnatural manner. Lucy looked on with interest, seemingly unaffected. It felt much like when Lucy did her trick with the lighting and temperature, if not as widespread.

"Uh, Andrea? You feeling alright?" I questioned gently. I knew that fighting for ones life put someone in a special state of mind, but this was a bit excessive.

Like a switch had been flipped, the shadows and shapes vanished and Andrea was left with a vaguely confused expression.

"What do you mean?"

I shared a glance with Luna before saying, "Nothing. Let's go with your suggestion."

I made a mental note to watch Andrea carefully. As much as I liked, maybe even loved her, I was wary of being in a relationship with a possibly insane and/or psychopathic girl.

"You never told me that she had a crazy side," Lucy whispered accusingly, "Now I like her even more."

I glared Lucy into silence, glad that Andrea was too busy scanning ahead to concentrate on what Lucy was saying.

"There's a problem."

That phrase again. I was beginning to hate it almost as much as Team Phoenix.

"I can't see very well. Just take a look for yourself," Andrea said, opening her eyes and rubbing her head with a grimace.

We, Luna and myself, extended our senses and figured out what she meant after a moment.

Normally, a Lucario can see the outlines of hallways, doors, and various objects because of the natural aura sticking to everything. Living things give off their own aura, which appeared differently to each Lucario that observed it.

I could say, with confidence, that just about every place on the planet had as least a detectable amount of aura to be picked up on. Unless, of course, that place happens to have something that sucks away aura or no life around.

The result: any area we tried to extend our senses to appeared as a blank darkness. I could see some very dim flames of living creatures here and there, but was sure that I was failing to perceive a few creatures.

"That is-"

"_Don't say it!_" I snapped at Luna who raised her paws and went silent.

"Mind filling in those of us who can't see aura?" Lucy asked sardonically.

We told her what we could see and went silent, thinking.

As one, our heads darted towards the door. A loud sound was coming from the other side. It sounded like-

"They've got fire types!" Luna yelled, and began to run. The sight of the circle of red that had appeared and began to expand had us fleeing.

"I think it's this way!" I yelled, taking a left and reacting with just enough time to grab the barrel of the gun and point it up before the man on the other end of it began pulling the trigger. Dust and chips of the ceiling covered us until I wrestled the weapon from the man and slammed it into his jaw, sending him down so that Lucy could dart forward and make his screaming self unconscious.

I looked up from the man a moment later and met the eyes of twenty or thirty members of Team Phoenix that filled the hallway.

Most were surprised, shocked at our appearance and takedown of their comrade.

There was only one thing to do that probably wouldn't screw us over. The gun in my paws was turned and aimed at the crowd in a second.

The ones in the front began to run and the rest followed when I began spraying bullets at the floor and ceiling behind me as we ran back to where we had turned before and went straight instead.

The bullets ran out, so I dumped that gun so I could run faster.

"That was awesome!" Andrea shouted as we fled.

"That was terrifying!" I corrected, "Duck!" I had seen the spider Pokemon moments before it launched webs at us, which were barely dodged. Lucy roasted the Pokemon with a flamethrower before it could react while Andrea slammed its owner into the wall with a psychic.

Right before we moved on, Andrea called for us to hold up. We turned to see her holding a key card that she pilfered off of the woman that she had just knocked unconscious.

"This might come in handy," she explained before we began moving on.

We came in contact with two other groups and I was honestly surprised that we managed to survive long enough to find the epicenter of where the aura was being drained.

The reason we knew it was the center of everything is because wisps of aura drifted off of us despite us using no attacks. The men in labcoats, and their bodyguards, were taken down moments after we entered the room. We had grown used to working with one another and the element of surprise was a strong advantage. It was hard to fight without my Aura Stone and any aura-based attacks. I was ashamed to say that Luna, who had experience with the full range of Lucario attacks, and Andrea, who didn't use many aura-based attacks, were the better combatants the closer we got to my parents.

I had to stick with shooting around their legs and screaming menacingly when I couldn't outright hit them.

"Jacob," Andrea drew my attention to the collection of screens on one wall. She pointed to one that wasn't filled with graphs and numbers, but a video screen.

On it were my parents. Both had their eyes closed and only the screens that mentioned the amount of aura being drained at the time kept me from-

Let's not go there.

"Let's shut this down," I told them, examining the wall of controls that the screens hung over.

"Should we work with good old Plan X?" Luna inquired, picking up a pistol from a downed guard. It was hard for us to shoot pistols, as our paws were not well-handled to hold them. Despite this, it wasn't difficult to point in the general direction and pull the trigger repeatedly.

It's not like we were trying to aim with any sort of precision, anyways. Even Andrea, with her newly discovered malevolence, wasn't trying to kill anyone. Just put them down so that they stayed down.

"Not yet. We're not sure if we'll screw it up and up the power or anything. So get-Woah!"

All of us either grabbed the nearest steady object or fell to the ground when everything began shaking.

"Earthquake?" Andrea yelled questioningly, out loud. We had been unable to communicate via aura when we had gotten too close to the epicenter.

"I don't know!" I yelled and tried to stand up. The shaking slowed down somewhat, giving everyone that had fallen a chance to get back up.

"I don't think that that was an earthquake," Lucy declared, compulsively smoothing her tails from the tumble that she had taken.

"Alert!" a radio on a guard's hip squawked.

"A large enemy force has found the base. Begin abandonment procedures. Secure sensitive data and-"

We ignored the other orders and got back to the controls.

"Maybe Daniel called in the calvary?" Luna suggested.

"Found it!" Andrea yelled triumphantly, making us rush over to her position. She pointed to a lever that was labeled 'Amount Absorbed. Warning: do not exceed 739 AUPS.'

I thanked Andrea and twisted it to the left until it stopped. The graphs and numbers dropped to zero and we felt the drain lessen and go away soon after.

"I guess it worked," Andrea said in the silence that had taken over the room. I looked at the screen and saw as my mom began to stir.

"Go and get them out," Lucy told us. "I'll keep anyone from coming in here and starting it back up."

We couldn't think of a suitable argument against her. She was capable of taking care of most threats. Just in case, "Here." I passed her a radio, changing the channel to something random before changing another radio to the same channel and checking to see if they connected.

"We'll let you know if anything happens."

"Good. Oh, before you go. I'm calling in my Favor."

I paused at the doorway, paw on the handle, and turned to her with an exasperated look. We really didn't have the time-

"Get Hannah back," Lucy said seriously. "Get Hannah and the dork that she chose for a mate out of here and we'll be square."

"You got it," I said with a salute as I opened the door and left.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

I spared a dispassionate glance to the people that were now corpses, courtesy of Houndoom.

A quick look to Leon told me that, aside from a wrinkled nose at the smell, Leon did not react overly to their deaths.

I suppose that it made sense. A wild Pokemon, like Leon, would experience death now and again in the wild.

A little while later, the ground shook and I braced myself on a wall. A beep had me pull my phone to my ear to hear above the racket.

"Forces have arrived and are moving in. I sent them a live feed to your position so they will make sure to watch out for you and search for the VIPS."

"Good. Send me their position and I'll rendezvous will them."

"Sending now. Good luck."

"Right," I finished, ending the call and waiting for the shaking to stabilize enough to walk straight.

"It stopped," Leon suddenly said, earning him a questioning glance from all present.

"The drain, I mean. Watch." He sent out some more of the misty aura. It hung in the air, unaffected by gravity or any other unseen force.

I took this in stride and pulled out two pokeballs.

"You two return. Make us invisible, Leon." I watched and waited until our shadows were gone before I continued onward, forcing my steps to be much more quiet than normal. My gun was replaced with my knife, as I knew that stealth was the name of the game.

I only had time to take down ten or so members before the sound of gunfire could be heard in the distance.

"Do you think it's Jacob and the others?" Leon asked quietly.

"Doubtful. If you listen, you can tell that there are two forces facing off against one another. The amount of firepower coming from both sides tells us that it can't be just three Lucario."

"There's Lucy," he added.

I began to say that Ninetales couldn't shoot guns, but a memory of my own Ninetales using her tails to hold back the triggers of several mounted LMGs on a mission that involved defending a mountainous base stopped me.

"Four, then," I amended. In the right circumstance, one Ninetales can be worth eight or nine gunmen in an enclosed area with mounted guns.

* * *

HANNAH'S POV

"Hmm," I groaned when a violent rumble made the room shake and groan around us. I was too weak to move and prayed that no debris would land on me or my sleeping husband.

I had fallen asleep...some time ago. The constant drain made returning to consciousness far too difficult of a task.

But that raised the question of how I was awake. I figured out that the drain that had been plaguing me the moment I had arrived in that hole was no longer affecting me. Had the rumbling broke the machine? Did a timely earthquake give us a reprieve?

Whatever it was, I was thanking Arceus for it. After a moment of enjoying the trickle of aura that spread throughout my system, I lifted my arm and gripped Jason's arm.

My throat was dry, telling me that I had been out for more than just a few hours. I tried to speak and it took me a minute to clear my throat.

Rasping, I called out, "Jason. Wake up." I tugged weakly, mainly because that was all I was capable of in that moment.

"C'mon," I continued when I didn't receive a reaction. "We've got to be awake when Shade marches in here and saves your butt. You know that he's worried sick about you. I could tell. Now wake up."

Finding no reaction, I let go and rolled on my side. The reason I did this was to have my back face him, which also had my tail closer to the arm that hung off of the bed. It took much more effort than usual to lift my tail, my poor poor untended tail, up to his paw and lace it in his fingers. The covering that I had been forced to wear had come loose and slid off easily before my attempt.

Despite it being my own actions, and Jason being my husband of many years, the urge to curse the one touching my tail came as expected. As I knew it would.

The ability to curse someone with my tail was separate from my aura. I didn't understand it, but I didn't need to.

My curse shot into Jason and I intoned, "Wake up."

I felt the grip on my tail tighten and only my willpower kept me from sending another, definitely nastier, curse into him.

I pulled my tail from his grasp and internally cheered when his breathing changed.

"You awake?" I asked, putting my paw into his. He squeezed it once, giving me my answer. He had been asleep for much longer than me and if my throat was dry, his must be positively desert-like.

"The drain is gone. You were asleep, but it stopped right after the place shook. Felt like an earthquake."

Jason squeezed my paw again and I saw him working his jaw, audible pops coming from every movement. Despite my lack of experience with aura, I could feel the thin tendril that Jason tried to connect to me with. I put it down to the severe lack of aura giving me hypersensitivity.

"Save what you can. We can talk later. Just try to stay awake. I'm not sure if I can wake you up with another curse any time soon."

Jason stopped his attempts and we fell into silence.

Another tendril sought me out and I almost berated him before the voice came through.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

I made a mental note to never piss off my girlfriend when she had an automatic machine gun in her possession.

Her insane cackling was barely heard in between the bursts of gunfire and I almost copied our enemies in running.

I never knew that Andrea was such a marksman-markswoman? She fired wildly and, from what I saw, did not deliver any immediately lethal shots. Most ran when the crazy Lucario entered their sights, which made our job easier.

"Did you know-"

"That she has an evil side when it comes to guns? **No**," I answered Luna's worried question. The two of us had our own machine guns in our paws, having pilfered them from people we had taken down, but neither of us were using them much. We relied on our aura spheres and Aura Stone respectively. My Aura Stone shot out and deflected bullets now and again from enemies that tried to go against us rather than Andrea.

I can't blame them, really.

"Take a right!" I shouted to Andrea, who twisted and sprinted down the hallway. Screams of fear, and pain, were heard as we ran along the same path.

We found Andrea breathing hard, two guns held loosely in her paws while she faced a large door that blocked our path. The hallway was littered in a few groaning bodies while the wall had the occasional blood splatter. Shallow furrows told me that bullets had come close to hitting her on more than a single occasion.

How this girl seemed to sane, I did not know.

"Andrea, hun?" I said, carefully.

"Hmm?" She turned and fixed me with a curious glance, the crazed look gone.

"What is it?" Andrea asked, voice as level as Daniel's in just about every situation.

"You have the key card," I pointed at the card that hung around her neck.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. Here we go," she spent a moment dropping the gun she held in her left paw and swiping the card.

She left the gun there without a second look as she walked through. I shivered as I walked past it. A bit of smoke rose from its barrel.

Inside was what appeared to be a large block of some sort of material with wires and many machines attached to it. Nobody was inside the room, but a few machines hummed while others sparked. I guess that the shaking did manage to damage some machines.

I closed my eyes and cast my senses forward.

The moment I felt my mother's aura, I connected with her and shouted, "Mom! Where's Dad?"

I couldn't feel his aura and feared that they had taken him elsewhere.

It took a moment for her to respond, and it was weak when she did.

"He's with me. What are you doing here?"

After a moment of thankful relief, I told Luna and Andrea to begin looking for a way in before responded to her, "Oh, you know. Breaking into the bases of criminal organizations, saving my parents, the usual. Now you wait while we get you out."

I checked and found my father's aura almost eclipsed by the meagre amount that my mother possessed. But it was there. That was all that mattered.

We barely scanned the machines before Luna growled in frustration.

"I know that I'm not as tech-savvy as the two of you, but I know that all of this is ridiculously complicated!"

"I'm not sure we know what to do-"

I felt a new presence in my head and my words were halted by my father's instructions.

"Change the composition levels to somewhere around 47%," he told me, his voice only just audible in my mind.

"I can barely sense your aura. How are you talking? And yeah, I've moved the knob to 45%."

"Begin flipping that row of switches on the console to your left until they are all red. And I'm not actually your father, just the piece of his consciousness that he gave you awhile ago. Now stop asking questions. I don't have much left in me."

I stopped asking questions and instead followed his instructions. I ignored the questions from the girls and instead performed each action quickly.

The tan cube began to wobble, much like gelatin, before becoming ridged once more. Five instructions later, the walls had perforations appear all over its surface. Each tiny hole grew quickly until the cube disappeared, leaving my parents prone forms behind.

Luna and myself rushed forward and I reconnected with Mom, adding Dad a moment later when I saw that his eyes were open, if unfocused. Andrea stayed back, watching the door. At least one of us kept that danger in mind.

"Touch your father's head," I was instructed one last time. I touched my father's forehead and felt the presence fade away through the contact. Some clarity appeared in his eyes and the connection between us strengthened.

"I am not sure whether to ground you or give you one heck of an increase in allowance for disobeying me," was his first words via aura. Luna grabbed her canteen out of her pack and I copied her, both of us giving my parents a drink. The first in a decent while, I think.

"If we manage to get out of this, let's go with the latter. We think that Daniel called for help-"

"Incoming! There's a lot of people headed our way," Andrea shouted, cutting our reunion short.

"You get Mom, I've got him," I told Luna, quickly picking up my dad, who groaned and whose body popped with every movement. His eyes closed and I'm pretty sure he passed out. He disconnected from the conversation, anyways. My mom did the same a moment after.

"They know that we're here!" Andrea shouted in our heads. I didn't need to send out my senses to hear the many footsteps pounding down the hallway behind the closed door.

I looked around and found no other ways out.

"Get away from the door," I told Andrea, who was aiming her weapon at the entryway with a grim, and a bit crazed, look that I was getting far too used to.

We waited in tense silence as the footsteps slowed and halted in front of the door. I had my arm extended and prepared to send the Aura Stone flying forward. Luna had twin aura spheres aimed while Andrea had both hers and Luna's abandoned gun aimed at the door. The tension rose when the other side stopped at the door.

After a moment, we heard two knocks from the doorway.

They were knocking.

On their own door.

To say I was confused is like saying that Moltres is a _little_ warm.

"Jacob? You in there?"

My arm dropped and I let out the breath I had been holding for far too long. Luna copied me, her aura spheres blinking away. Andrea did the same, her face showing confusion. I guess it made sense. She had only met the guy a few times before then and wouldn't recognize his voice like we had.

I strode forward and opened the door slowly, peeking out at the man that stood closest to the door.

Once I saw the familiar orange scales, I threw the door open and shouted, "Uncle Shade!"

He was wearing body armor, a protective helmet, and held a pistol in each hand, but I recognized the man in a moment. The WPO soldiers that stood behind him lowered their weapons when Shade sheathed his guns.

He muttered his usual, "Not your uncle," before getting serious.

"Is that Jason?" he asked when he saw my dad over my shoulder. Seeing as he looked like any other Lucario, I could understand why he asked. It's not like he had the Ninetales tail or yellow fur to distinguish himself.

I gave an affirmative and waved for Luna and Andrea to come over. Shade raised an eyebrow at the gun in Andrea's possession, but did not comment.

Shade gave some brief orders to the soldiers gathered and most went down the hallway and off somewhere else. Two remained with us along with Shade, who faced us once more.

"Where is the agent we sent for you?"

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

We found the head of Team Phoenix about the same time as the WPO special forces did. We were on the ground floor, in a building on the surface, at that moment. The WPO had only just started coming in from that direction and others had entered in from a different area. The base had multiple entrances, evidently.

The silver-haired leader had two other people with him, one of which I recognized.

He was a renown killer. Wanted in most civilized countries and not welcome in most of the rest. The person that was responsible for almost everything that happened early in my life.

My _father, _not that I had called him that in years.

He was right there. I had been searching for him for so long. Less than one hundred meters away from me, he was moving towards an exit.

In the calmest state of mind that I was capable of, my pistol was aimed and firing at the man that was the central player in almost every nightmare I had experienced since that day.

He saw me come in, Leon's invisibility having been disabled so as to avoid having the WPO forces shoot me accidentally.

In a move that was as predictable as it was frustrating, he grabbed the leader of Team Phoenix and jerked him right into the path of the bullets. The man with the faintly silver hair jerked with each impact and was just as quickly thrown aside so that my father could run.

The man that the WPO had been trying to capture, or kill, for the last three years, with so many bounties on his head to let any person live comfortably for the rest of their lives was dead before he hit the ground. I hardly noticed.

I aimed at the back of my real target's head and-

"_Click_," the sound of an empty magazine met my ears.

Leon gripped my head tightly when I began sprinting after Gregory Bogard. Bullets managed to catch the third member of their group, the unknown, but I paid him no attention as I ran past. Almost as an afterthought, I let out the majority of my team, only keeping Swampert with me because it would have taken too long to pull his pokeball out of my other pocket.

"Assist the WPO with cleaning house and find the charges!" I shouted the order to them before running after Gregory. If Team Phoenix members hadn't begun flowing in, they probably would have come after me. As they were, it was all they could do to assist Meganium without getting in her way.

Her screams of jubilation followed me for some time as I ran.

I caught flashes of the man around corners, nearly losing him on more than one occasion. He led me up multiple stairwells where I took the stairs three, sometimes four, steps at a time.

I saw light beyond an open door on the fourth floor and my heart clenched, forcing me to increase my already-sprinting pace.

That man couldn't be allowed to escape. Not when he was so close.

I burst out into the room, which was well lit from the multiple windows it held, and felt my left shoulder suddenly lose the weight I had grown used to. At the same time, I registered the presence of my father, I realized that it was because of a swung pipe that Leon was flying back into the hallway that I had just exited.

I hadn't considered a trap, so focused as I was on catching up to him.

The pipe came around and met my the arm that I held up to defend my head. I grit my teeth, knowing that the hit was going to leave a heck of a bruise, and gripped the pipe. That man, instead of trying to get the pipe back, let go while stepping back and reaching for his-

"No you don't!" I yelled, slamming the newly gained pipe into the pistol he was pulling out and knocking it from his grip.

Gregory grit his teeth, grabbing the hand I had just disarmed and breathing heavily. He wasn't the only one breathing hard and our eyes were locked as neither of us moved for a moment.

"This is bringing back memories," Gregory sneered. I made no sort of sign that I heard him. Let him waste his time speaking. It would take him longer to get his breath back.

"You, me, standing in a room I led you to. Me, holding a pistol as of a moment ago. You, trying to shoot me earlier. Now all that's missing is-oh, never mind," Gregory barely flicked his eyes to his right, bringing Leon's entrance to my attention in my peripherals.

"Huh, I thought the pup meant more to you. Guess I was wrong. How long did you wait before replacing it?"

A shout from the distance preceded an explosion that blew out all of the windows in the room, covering most of the ground in glass. The sounds of combat, both the battling kind and the one with guns involved, could be heard from the outside. The sunlight that had been streaming in was accompanied with the scent of smoke

Gregory came forward impossibly fast and I raised my arms to block the punch, only to have to prevent the shards of glass he had acquired from flying into my eyes when he flicked them towards my face.

I jumped back, avoiding the-nothing came and I looked up to see Gregory grinning and pulling the trigger of the pistol he had retrieved.

A wave of blue mist surrounded the both of us and suddenly that man's eyes became unfocused before he growled and fired his gun. The illusion didn't affect me, so I had no trouble dodging the clumsily aimed shot and rushing forward. Gregory twisted out of the way of an invisible blow and his eyes only picked up on my fist as it slammed into his jaw.

"Things are going to end a lot differently," I stated, calmly. My mind was clear, each action thought out and my past only remembered by the emotions that I felt when I looked upon that pathetic specimen.

We exchanged blows, his ability to block or shoot hindered by the illusions he was affected by. I tried to get the gun out of his possession and miscalculated at a pivotal moment.

I had knocked him back, sending him stumbling, but was unable to press the advantage when the ceiling collapsed, forcing me back. If I hadn't sent him back, the beams that crashed down would have crushed him to death while causing me traumatic injury as well.

I found myself cursing my actions and stepping back a ways, making sure that I would see him when he made his next move.

* * *

LEON'S POV

I backed away from the doorway when the portion of the ceiling collapsed and my illusion field was disrupted by it. I coughed a bunch and blinked away tears because of the dust in the air.

"Daniel?" I called out, the contents of the room were but a faint outline even with the sun attempting to cut through the haze.

I was pretty sure that Daniel punched his-that man back at the same time the ceiling came down. Wasn't he in the same place as the fallen debris? Was the threat gone?

I saw a shape moving in the dust and I moved towards it. It was where Daniel had been before the ceiling came down. He must have fallen.

Maybe he was hurt! With this worry in mind, I ran forward and suddenly found a large mass in front of me.

"**BangBangBangBang**!" Four shots rung out from who I had assumed was Daniel.

I was unmistakably wrong.

Daniel collapsed in front of me, his face bearing an expression of agony for moments before he was still.

In a daze, I looked up to see the same gun that had just taken down Daniel pointed at me.

"And so history repeats itself," the man declared, the left side of his head covered in blood from where something had hit it. Even with one of his eyes closed and with what appeared to be a pretty severe head injury, I knew that his next shot wasn't going to miss. His hand was far too steady, the look in his hard eyes far too **certain**.

"Did he ever tell you that you were a replacement? That he was supposed to kill a little Riolu that looked exactly like you to become a full member of Team Styx? He didn't even have the balls to do it himself. If he did what I just told him to do, like what he should have done, then things would have gone-"

And then he was cut off.

I'm not sure what attack it was, but it was powerful enough to reduce the walls, floor, and the remainder of the ceiling right behind the man into nothingness.

I covered my eyes when it first appeared, the bright stream of energy blinding me and buffeting my fur with scorching winds. It was only when the roar that accompanied the attack went away that I blinked away the spots that persisted and saw what was left of the room.

Gregory had turned and took a step away from the blast as it went by, throwing both his arms up to protect his eyes.

I found myself disappointed that be hadn't been caught up in the blast, but then I saw my chance at the same instant that the blast began to dissipate. He was standing on the edge of a newly created drop from a substantial altitude.

With the energy of those who knew that their life was on the line, I leapt over Daniel and placed a force palm in his side. I know that it was weak, due to my tired and frazzled state of mind, but it was enough to send that man stumbling forward and over the superheated edge.

I collapsed close to the edge, just barely missing a spot that still glowed ominously red, and had a clear view of what lay below.

* * *

Another note, this story has reached the 400 review mark as of the last chapter and I'm so proud!

Review, if you please. This isn't the last chapter, but it's close. Tell me what you think!


	24. Life Afterwards

The Return of the Cursed Gift chap 24

Apologies for taking so long. This is the last chapter.

Cherish it. Cherish it like a baby Riolu that's too adorable for this world.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. If I did, Ash would actually be competent. And Pokemon Go would be so much more awesome. The servers would crash less and I would have 100 Riolu already. (Yes, I know only Gen I is out right now...I would cheat.)

* * *

Chapter 24

Life Afterwards

JACOB'S POV

Uncle Shade asked us some questions before tasking the two soldiers that had stayed behind with bringing us to the surface. He followed the way that the troops under his command had gone, speaking to them through a radio as he went. He waved farewell to us before moving around the corner. I let Lucy know that we had found my parents and that we were all about to be brought out.

She said that she would meet up with us outside and left the radio where it sat. It's not like she had an easy way of toting it around. I went ahead and dropped the one that I had, not seeing any use in keeping it with me.

The two that Uncle Shade had ordered to get us to safety folded out a large, very thin, sheet of metal and placed it on the ground in the hallway. One groaning Team Phoenix member had to be dragged out of the way and I carefully avoided meeting Andrea's eyes. She was still holding onto that gun and I'm pretty sure her eyes were plastered a little too heavily on the blood-trail left behind by the member.

"Please get on and make sure that everyone stays inside of the square. You don't want to know what happens otherwise," the woman advised. Everyone huddled a little closer before the one that was off of the square hit a button on a remote.

The sensation of teleportation almost made me have a panic attack before I remembered that I didn't need to avoid it, nor flying, any longer. I was finally reunited with my family and those precautions were no longer necessary.

We appeared in a wide-open area with several of the same sheets of metal scattered about. Tents were set up around the area, some with doctors waiting inside and others with technicians manning their own devices.

"This way," the soldier directed us, clearing a spot for the next group to teleport in. Uncle Shade once told me that they used psychic type Pokemon in conjunction with some fancy technology to be able to carry around personal teleporters instead of having to equip every person with a Pokemon that could teleport. They had to be set up ahead of time, but are incredibly handy for anything involving extraction.

I saw a group of Lucario and Riolu appear on one of the pads and they were quickly moved, some on stretchers, to different areas. It didn't surprise me that my parents weren't the only aura-using Pokemon taken by Team Phoenix.

I saw smoke rising some distance away, roughly half a mile, as well as the sounds of gunshots from the area. It didn't take a scientist to realize that that was where the WPO was fighting Team Phoenix.

Several soldiers that approached us were diverted from our group when our guide told them, "VIPs."

"Very Impressive Pokemon," Luna joked, earning a small smile from Andrea and myself.

The lady led us into an impressively large tent with the Pokemon Ranger insignia right next to the WPO icon situated all over its surface. She made her way to this large table with holographic images covering its surface. People sat around it, wearing headsets and delivering reports to the higher-ups that barked instructions now and again.

Rick saw us as we approached and met us halfway.

"Bringing these VIPs here as ordered," the woman declared before being dismissed by Rick. We gave her a thankful nod as she left.

"Greene! The leader was just located!" a woman wearing a headset shouted over to Rick, who quickly told us to sit tight before ordering her to bring up the feed.

The table, most of it, was replaced with a live feed of a man in a gray business suit who was running towards an exit along with two other people.

"Take out-" Rick began.

Shots rang out from the speakers after one of the two men gripped the leader and used him as an unwilling human shield. I flinched and was glad when I saw Andrea do the same out of the corner of my eye. However much crazy the girl had, she at least didn't enjoy seeing people die.

Could do without her temporary insanity around firearms, though.

"Target down! Moving in to confirm kill," the person the helmet camera was attached to declared, moving forward and catching one of the men that had been with the leader with a stream of bullets.

The sight of Daniel running through the doorway after the fleeing man brought me some relief as well as confusion. I was happy that he, and Leon, were safe. But why was he chasing after that last guy?

"That was Daniel," I told Rick, who gave the instructions for a small team to go after the man that was charged with protecting us.

The next few minutes went by with Rick barking out instructions all over the place before ordering a platoon of soldiers, about twenty, to teleport us to the selected hospital and keep us all safe.

Some soldiers went ahead of us and we met them in the hospital, where we set my two parents on some hospital stretchers and I argued with the doctors.

"I have just located my family after they were _taken_ from me. The only way you are getting me out of the same room as them is by using a tranquilizer on me."

The doctor that tried to bar my path gave up in the face of my stubbornness and allowed us, Luna, Andrea, and myself, to stay in the room as they hooked up all sorts of machines to them. Technical terms flew over my head, but I understood what they said at the end.

"Given sufficient rest and a constant supply of nutrients and liquid, they will recover from their ordeal," a nurse told us, locking us with a stern eye for the next statement. "You three will stay in this room and will not bother those two until they wake up on their own. Is that clear?"

We nodded, a bit surprised at the severity that the man in scrubs could bear against us. I understood the phrase, "Do not piss off the white mage," very well after meeting him.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

I was a fool. A sentimental, wasteful, _fool_. I had my knife out, ready to run forward and take care of the problem that plagued me for so long.

"Daniel?"

I didn't call back to the Riolu. To do so would give away my location in the haze that I could barely see through.

That man moved through the haze, carefully moving into the spot I had been before the ceiling caved in. I frowned when I saw that he still held his pistol. If my memory was correct, he still had around six bullets remaining in the magazine from our previous fight. I hadn't heard him reload, but I hadn't been listening carefully either. This needed to be ended quickly.

I was about to move forward, fully prepared to take the risk of getting shot in order to perform a finishing, or at the very least incapacitating, blow, when a smaller shape moved away from the doorway.

In my peripherals, I saw the figure of my target raise its arm.

I wasted a perfectly good chance to move in and kill him because I found myself diving in front of Leon.

It wasn't a conscious decision. I did not think about it, nor contemplate the consequences before doing what I did.

If anyone ever called me sentimental, then I couldn't deny them that. I couldn't allow my partner-I couldn't allow Leon to die. Not like that. Not like Julius.

When the agonizing pain from the gunshots had the still-hazy figure fade to black, I was certain that I wouldn't see anything else ever again. Whatever could be said about the man, Gregory Bogard was thorough in taking care of problems.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up in the hospital. My waking was slow, very unlike how I normally woke. A squeeze of my hands told me that I was unarmed. I felt the numbness that painkillers brought clouding my mind, so I forced myself to concentrate despite the difficulty before I opened my eyes.

It was a normal enough hospital room and I found that nothing was immediately amiss, aside from the fact that I couldn't feel anything below my hips. I associated that with the drugs.

I noticed that a table to my right held six familiar pokeballs.

There were three missing.

With this observation in mind, I turned my head to the left at the sound of the breathing. Leon was curled up in the chair, asleep. That told me where one of the pokeballs were.

I eyed the call button near my bed for a moment, but judged that my mind was too unsteady from the drugs in my system to take the risk of speaking to a possible unknown. I didn't know what the situation was and couldn't risk acting without more information. Leon was the only one who wouldn't take advantage of my drugged state to sugar-coat my inquiries. I just didn't see him delivering a lie to me when I asked him a direct question.

I was spared the effort of figuring out a way to wake him up when the noise from something outside the room jolted him awake. He rubbed his eyes and yawned before looking over at me and jumping when he saw that I was also awake.

"I'll go get-"

"Stand fast," I stopped him before he reached the door. "I have some questions."

Leon hesitated for a moment before coming to the left side of my bed and moving the chair closer. He climbed back into it and waited, rubbing his fingers together nervously.

"Where are the two missing members of my team?" The team was my first priority. It seemed as though I had been unconscious for some time and, if they were injured, my team would have already recovered to some degree by now. Medical technology was able to help Pokemon recover at an incredibly fast rate, but humans are not so fortunate. Leon didn't have any lingering evidence that he was grazed by that bullet.

"Leon, where are Meganium and Honchkrow?" I asked, after he did not answer and did not meet my eyes.

"Both of them died," Leon finally said. "The day of the battle. Meganium was taken down by a battalion of fire types before she could take out the last seven. They said that she was responsible for over thirty percent of the enemies casualties. Honchkrow kept the attention of most of the aerial enemies for a majority of the battle."

I closed my eyes and mourned both of them. I had known Honchkrow for longer, yet I felt their deaths both very keenly.

Honchkrow never liked killing others and I hoped that he did not die with too many regrets weighing down his conscious. He was a good old Pokemon, the best kind to work with and the team, as well as the world, would be so much less happy with him gone.

Meganium was born to fight. To wade in the midst of opponents and pound each and every one of them down into the ground. She did not go gentle into that good night.

"What was done with their remains?" I asked, not opening my eyes just yet. I was thinking of our times together, allowing myself to remember and mourn like I had never allowed with Julius.

"Honchkrow is waiting in a stasis unit. The hospital staff has to wait for your decision on what to do with him. Meganium's remains are with Honchkrow, in an urn. The fire types cremated almost everything and they gathered what they could."

I smiled at the thought and murmured, "That's what she would have wanted. She always hated the idea of being stuck in the ground. Honchkrow as well."

Leon was respectfully silent as I spent a few minutes accepting my comrade's deaths. I set aside my grief and asked, "What of my father?"

I knew that Leon knew that Gregory was my father. And, seeing as both Leon and myself were alive, something had prevented the man from cleaning up his loose ends.

"Dead."

I clenched the bedsheets hard enough to make my knuckles creak.

"Did you see it happen? Were you right there?" I demanded, my mind forcibly cleared and waiting on his answer. If I had a heartbeat monitor attached, it would have shown my blood pressure spiking.

"H-he fell off of the edge!"

"Edge?" I questioned in a demanding tone. We had been in a building, on the third or so floor, if my memory was correct.

Leon told me what happened. An attack from the nearby fighting destroyed the area behind Gregory, creating the 'edge' that Leon mentioned.

"He was looking away from me and it seemed like a really good chance. I hit him with a force palm and saw it when he hit the ground."

I wanted to ask more details about what he saw, to be certain that he was well and truly dead. But his body language told me that he was feeling guilt, or something close to it, at causing the death of another. Even if he was a wild Pokemon, he seemed like one to run or knock out rather than kill.

"What did they do with his remains?" I allowed. I had to know that much. I needed to see proof before I accepted anything.

Leon told me that the WPO had gathered all of the deceased members of the recently exterminated Team Phoenix and were taking their time in identifying all the bodies.

"How did I get here?" I knew that Riolu were strong for their size, but there was no way that he could drag me very far.

"I let out Swampert. He was worried about the floor not being able to hold him. That's why he didn't come out if his pokeball earlier. He carried you to the medics and they brought us here."

"Well done," I complemented him. "You did the right thing."

I did not specify what he did correctly. I believed that his pushing Gregory over the edge was the best thing he could have ever done, but I didn't want to have him continue thinking about his actions as they truly seemed to bother him.

Leon's smile at the praise had me thinking of Julius when he grinned. I'm not sure if it was because of the drugs, but I did not flinch away from the thoughts of my old partner.

"Thank you for telling me all of this. Please go get the doctor."

Leon hopped down and ran off to get whoever he was wanted to get before. I inhaled deeply and allowed my mask to slip. I had done what I had wanted to do for so long, but also lost two long-time friends and comrades at the same time.

"Sorry that it took so long, but I finally avenged you, old friend," I whispered in the empty air.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

Five days have passed since my parents were admitted to the hospital. They woke up at different times the morning of the second day. I was woken up by my dad's voice in my head.

"I'm still debating whether to ground you or not," he said once I woke up fully and he had captured my attention.

I snorted mentally and was sure not to move as both Luna and Andrea were leaning against me as they slept. I was kept warm between those two, though I could have done without Luna's drool. Ugh, I was going to have to wash that spot thoroughly.

"Blame Celebi. He said that he didn't want to lose his bet," I declared, throwing the Legendary under the metaphorical bus without any remorse.

He gave me an appraising look before he said, "I have no idea what they are talking about. I don't think that I've ever met Celebi."

"Time travel is complicated," I muttered, to which he nodded.

He fell back asleep soon after and the officials only began interrogating all of us after my mother woke up on her own.

They had tried to come before she had regained consciousness. An Aura Stone transformed into a sword and pointed at them while I mentally snarled to quiet down ensured that they wouldn't be back for awhile. At least, not until my mother had woken up naturally. The rest of the room had eyed me after that but did not make any mention of the incident afterwards.

Oddly enough, the hospital staff eyed me warily after that event. Word spread quickly, evidently.

Lucy found us on the second day and told me that we were square in regards to the Favor. She ignored my mental cheers and ecstatic tears of joy to sit next to my mother's bed.

I'm not joking when I say that I was weeping tears of happiness and Andrea was looking at a laughing Luna for an explanation that never appeared.

Despite the doctor's orders, my parents were out of their beds and rolling about in wheelchairs on the third day and walking by the fourth, much to the chagrin of the hospital staff. The doctors demanded that they have IVs in at all times, but those of us that could sense aura knew that they were almost totally back to full health.

Once everything began to calm down somewhat, meaning that they were released from the hospital, my dad insisted that everyone head on home and that he would take care of explanations.

It was painful telling my father that our house was gone. He couldn't quite hide his dismay at the news, but quickly hid it as well as he could. Since we couldn't exactly go home, my parents had Uncle Shade get us a room in a nearby hotel.

We had to stay under guard and not go anywhere without letting them know, but at least we got to sleep in some real beds. It felt weird sleeping in a bed without someone close by, but I was not about to get caught in bed with my girlfriend with so many adult figures around. Daniel didn't count in my mind. I doubted that he truly cared.

After the first incident with reporters, which took place at an ill-picked cafè, we traveled between the hotel and hospital solely via teleportation or while accompanied by Uncle Shade.

The fifth day was when Uncle Shade led us to the Daniel's room and that was when we found out that he had been injured. We had asked and made sure that Leon was alright, so we had assumed that Daniel was okay. Daniel was the elite soldier. If Leon managed to avoid getting hurt, then Daniel must be alright. That's what we had been thinking.

Seeing him in a bed, obviously having suffered grevious injury, told us just how wrong our preconceptions had been.

Uncle Shade left us with Daniel to go get the WPO officials that would ask us questions. Two guards stood at attention outside of the door, only moving to track possible threats with their eyes or when we went to a new location.

"What happened?" I asked Daniel once Uncle Shade left.

Daniel's eyes were as stoic as ever as he told us how his legs were shot, both literally and metaphorically, and that it was doubtful that he would be able to continue functioning as an agent of the WPO. We had winced and were unable to respond. We didn't know how to without sounding like we were pitying him. We knew that he would not have appreciated that.

Thankfully, Ninetales inquired about my parents and the topic changed long enough for the two men in suits to arrive and begin asking questions.

More chairs were brought in so that the two men were able to face towards the rest of us, with the exception of Uncle Shade, who stood next to the closed door with an unreadable expression. My parents had him promise to step in if the questions got out of hand.

"Let's start from the beginning, why don't we," a balding fellow with a briefcase full of files suggested. "Tell us what happened from the point that you were forced to leave your home up until now."

I began, Andrea supplying the small details that I forgot or left out. Luna joined in when we reached the part of us getting to the Sanctuary. We told them about the time we spent traveling, not going into too much detail about everything and bringing up only the pertinent points.

I gave a short demonstration, turning it into a few different shapes, when the Aura Stone came up.

We hit a wall when we got to the point where we began time traveling. Daniel spoke up at that point.

"There are details that they are not privy to. The Legendary Pokemon, Celebi, informed me of events that made it so that the only choice was to go on a retrieval mission."

"What would have happened?" the balding man questioned, surprisingly accepting of the time travel business. When the bosses believed even the crazy stuff with little hesitation, then you knew that they had a high level of trust in him.

"A complete collapse of the WPO as well as the usage of aura-based weaponry that changed the maps." Daniel's eyes flicked over to us for a moment before he finished, "More details will be provided at a later time."

Both the officials took a moment to contemplate his words, looking at the Pokemon of the room for a moment before urging us to continue. We took a moment longer digesting his words, wondering what all caused the collapse of an organization responsible for keeping the world running smoothly.

We finished telling them what we knew, starting up again at after we were dropped back into the timeline by Celebi, and they left, bringing Uncle Shade with them.

"Where are Meganium and Honchkrow?" Luna asked, pointing towards the pokeballs that were sitting on the table next to Daniel. She had evidently already probed each one and figured out which two were missing.

"Both perished during the battle," Daniel answered, the skin around his eyes drawing back and his jaw tensing at his words. The emotion coming off of him was close to what he had given off when he first laid eyes on Leon and those of us who could sense emotion, that's to say basically everyone there, flinched at his reaction.

The nurses kicked us out of the room a little after that was said to give Daniel some medication or something. I was almost thankful for the fact as I didn't know how to react to their deaths in any way that Daniel, or the two of them themselves, would have appreciated.

We brought Leon along with us and Luna carried him on her shoulder.

Quietly, we wandered around the park next to the hospital, our guards staying a short distance away, until Luna asked Leon, "So where is your pokeball?"

My parents told me that they had put our pokeballs in a secure location, but didn't know what happened to Leon's.

"It's here," he reached under his armband and, sure enough, the shrunken pokeball was nestled in between the Aura Stone and his fur.

"Make sure that you don't lose it," Andrea warned him.

"Don't worry, I won't," Leon said, smiling reassuringly and pushing his armband back down.

"Hey, look! Oran berries!" Luna said excitedly, towards the plant with the blue consumable hanging off of it.

She raced over to it and began munching down. I didn't bother mentioning that we only had lunch an hour ago, knowing the bottomless pit that Luna could be.

Before I could move forward to join Luna and Leon in eating, though not in such excess, Andrea tugged on my arm. She connected with me, leaving out Luna and Leon. Seeing as she appeared to do it purposely, I did not pull them into the conversation.

"I've been meaning to talk with you about something."

I turned fully towards her, then asked, "About?"

"Do you think that your dad is really going to be able to find a way to turn us back?"

We had discussed the topic with my parents and my father was working on figuring out a way for us to change back into humans whenever he wasn't busy with anything else. He hadn't made any progress, but promised to let us know as soon as he did.

"If anyone can, I think the guy who turned back human from a Lucario once before would be the one with the best chance," I answered with a grin. My dad really was the one with the best possibility of figuring things out.

"But what are we supposed to do if he can't figure out a solution?"

I bit down the quip I had coming about us getting a spot in a circus when I saw her very real worry.

"Regardless of what happens, I don't see very much being different than if we were human," I said with a casual shrug.

"What?" Andrea said, giving me a confused look.

"What I mean is that, aside from the fur and body structure, just what all are we missing out as humans? We can speak english and, even if we couldn't, we can communicate via aura. You know how common Pokemon having jobs are nowadays and we would have our pick of professions with how much stronger these bodies are than our regular ones. So, again, what would we be missing?"

"A couple fingers and the ability to not burn alive during the summer?" Andrea supplied, smiling as she spoke.

"You've got me there," I said with a shrug. Midway through the motion, I felt my arm vibrate and plucked the phone that Uncle Shade had supplied me with from the spot that I had made in my Aura Stone. I had considered carrying around a backpack, or small satchel even, but found using my Aura Stone to be much easier.

"Hello?" I didn't recognize the number, but that was due to the fact that both my parents had yet to get new phones and they just borrowed a guard's any time that they needed to contact us.

"It's already begun," my father's voice, grim as can be, came as a response.

I frowned with worry.

"What's begun? What's going on?" Leon and Luna both noticed my rising tone and moved over to us, leaning in to hear the conversation more easily.

"The _movie producers. They've_ caught wind of you guys. Arceus help us all."

* * *

JACOB'S POV

I was sitting in the park, relaxing after school with some poffins that I had begged off of my friend, who had a steel type Pokemon partner. Was using my puppy-dog eyes to manipulate my friends to get sweets wrong? Probably. Was I going to stop? Not a chance.

"Aren't you that guy who's going to be the character in the upcoming sequel to Curse of the Lucario?" A girl walking by the bench that I sat at asked, stopping in front of me.

It had been almost seven months since our return. Team Phoenix was well and truly gone and those of us that had to go back had gone back to school. The catch-up work was a pain, but we slipped right back on schedule with our classmates with little trouble. We had given some reporters interviews, per my father's suggestions, so they had stopped stalking us. A lot of people recognized us and we were glad when they stopped staring so much after three months. Now and again, like that moment, someone would recognize me (or more likely my Aura Stone) and say hello or ask for an autograph or something like that.

(School had been a bit weird, but calmed down rather quickly.)

"I'm only in a few of those scenes, honestly," I said, truthfully.

The same producers that made the movie about my dad had leapt into making the sequel and were supposed to have the movie completed sometime soon with the release close after that.

The producer offered to let us be around when our actors were acting out parts that had to do with us, which was most of the movie, but Andrea and Luna flat out refused. Andrea because she was blushing heavily and the idea of being a main character in a movie flustered her, even after all this time. Luna said no because she didn't want anything spoiled for her. I accepted and, after seeing the pitiful special effects that tried to emulate the Aura Stone, requested that I could lend my Aura Stone to the Lucario that was playing me.

After the director used the power of coercion, I was acting out several fight scenes with my Aura Stone and somehow did a pretty good job, if I say so myself. The Lucario who was acting me did a far better job everywhere else, however

The WPO had told us that we were not allowed to discuss certain aspects of what went on during our time on the run, so the movie itself was kind of inaccurate. Awesome as all out, if what I saw was any indication, though.

"Mind if I get a picture of you with your, ah?"

"Aura Stone?" I supplied.

"Right!"

I set my poffins aside and let the girl take her picture. I even transformed the Aura Stone into a sword, the same kind that I knew was shown in the trailer, and several other people came over and it turned into an impromptu photo shoot when I was too polite to say no.

I was a sucker when the little kids started begging.

I was able to finally escape when I received a text from my dad and begged off, telling them that I needed to head home. It's a good thing I did, as I saw a few trainers headed my way. Most of the time, trainers wanted photos with their entire team in them. Took forever to set up and I was usually squished between several bodies.

We had bought a new home, our old one far too gone to even consider repairing or rebuilding. It still stung whenever I went by there and saw the cleared lot, the debris having been sorted through and cleared away at some point. Our new house, which I was still getting used to, wasn't too different from our old one. It was also, just barely, close enough to Andrea's house that I was able to connect to her if we both stood in just the right places or I sent out the Aura Stone to act as a signal receiver.

I was about five minutes away from my house when my dad called me.

"Are you almost here?"

"Yeah. What's up?" His excited tone had me curious.

"Just hurry up. Oh, and call Andrea and tell her to come over."

My heart jumped and I asked, "Did you figure something out?" That was the only reason I could think for my dad's sudden excitement and request to bring my girlfriend.

Well, there was also the possibility of him throwing a celebration for one reason or another, but that was unlikely with how busy he has been.

"Now that would be spoiling the surprise, wouldn't it?" He hung up after that and I wasted no time in calling Andrea and telling her that my dad had figured something out and wanted us at my house ASAP.

Andrea pulled into the driveway right as I walked into the yard and we met at the door.

I pushed the door open and rushed to the living room, having sensed my parent's and Lucy being in there. Andrea groaned loudly when she saw that my both my parents were as blue-furred as ever, if grinning widely. The thing that stopped me from doing the same was the clothes that my dad was wearing. It was an unspoken decision that clothes were totally optional, an option that none of us had taken up until just then.

"Did you figure anything out?" I asked.

My dad grinned even wider before raising the arm he had kept hidden behind the couch.

The fur-less arm with five human fingers and normal skin. The arm-hair had the slightest tinge of blue, but that was it. From the shoulder down, his arm was as human as it was supposed to be.

"I've only managed a limb at a time, but I thought you might want to know," he said, his tone just a tad smug, though strained.

"How'd you-are you okay?" He had begun to frown and thick, gelatinous aura began to form around his arm. His fingers fused back together, the spike rose from the back of his paw, and the appendage sprouted fur until his arm was once again that of a Lucario. The remaining aura sank back into his skin with no other reaction.

He clinched his paw with a pained expression.

"Twenty-four minutes makes that the new record. It does hurt a little, and takes a lot of concentration, but I can show you how to do it."

"Lets get to it!" Andrea exclaimed, stepping forward with determination etched onto her face.

My dad's mouth quirked up with a grin as he said, "First step: go get some clothes on."

There was an awkward pause where we all considered the reason behind that and Andrea quickly left and returned with some clothes. We couldn't look one another's eyes when we began practicing, much to Lucy's amusement.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

I did as my dad told me and isolated the transformative aura. Yes, transformative aura. It took my dad and Pip weeks to figure out that there was a small percentage of our aura that was not normal.

(Narri had been largely useless throughout this time, far too focused on keeping every single male in the village away from Luna. She spent more time over at my place than at her own home until their mating season was over. It only took her a few nights to get the hang of sleepwalking throughout the new house and I carried her back to her own bed on more than one occasion.)

It was easy for my dad to find what he needed, having spent years messing with aura. The same for Andrea and my mom, but that's because they had a smaller-than-normal reserves of aura. I, on the other hand, was not as lucky as any of them. My reserves were massive and that small amount of transformative aura seemed even more diminutive when I had to dig throughout all the rest to locate it. It was akin to trying to locate a drop of oil in a lake.

When I did manage to find it, however, I had much better results than the rest of them. I first managed to transform when I was alone in my room, meditating to find the elusive type of aura. I was glad that I was in a private setting, because I hadn't gotten clothed due to me thinking that I wasn't going to manage it completely on my first try.

The process was pretty simple. Once I got past that first step of finding that special aura, I just gathered a bit of it and began to feed it normal aura to build it up. Once I thought I had built it up enough, I introduced it into my system and fed the 'battery' that I set up a steady supply of aura to keep up my human form.

While the three of them all managed to transform fully long before I managed to get it down, I was able to hold the form for ages longer than any of them.

I remember when I went downstairs the morning after I finally figured out the trick to it. I walked in to see my dad transforming his right arm and my mom hadn't bothered to change form, her tail waving lazily behind her as she prepared breakfast. An apron prevented anything from dirtying her fur.

"I've been running this for half an hour already," I boasted when I walked in the kitchen in my human form, grinning up a storm.

My parents congratulated me and I managed to keep up the form for another hour and a half until Lucy tripped me and broke my concentration, causing me to scratch up the floor with my chest spike when I slammed to the floor, the reverse transformation over in a moment.

"I hate you," I growled to her from my position on the ground, recovering from the severe ache that accompanied the sudden transformation coupled with the fall.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

"_Why is he still here?_" That's the question that I continued to ask myself throughout the physical therapy and afterwards, when I was staying in a decently sized apartment.

I had taken the first opportunity after I was cleared from the hospital, to travel to a specific hilltop that doubled as a cliff. It was halfway across the world, so I called in some favors to have a Psychic type bring myself, my team, and Leon to the bottom of that hill. It took me a long time to climb up it, the cane helping more than I would like to admit.

Finally, I got to the top of the hill and rested against the sakura tree. Staraptor was waiting patiently for me on a low branch, the remains I had come to spread held securely in the straps that fit across his back.

I wanted to carry them myself, but knew that it was going to be nearly impossible to do so easily with the cane taking up one of my hands.

"About time. You were about to miss it," Staraptor said without any heat to his words. He was referring to the sunset, which was beginning just as I arrived at the top. I let out the rest of the team, the exception being Leon, who had made the climb with me.

I grunted at his words, accepting Meganium first. I knew that she would complain if I didn't let her go first. I knew that Honchkrow wouldn't have minded.

I unscrewed the urn and walked to the edge before waiting a minute. The gentle wind that had been carrying sakura petals to the expanse below picked up and I used that opportunity to turn the urn and send the remains off. Meganium probably would have bellowed in protest at her remains being sent off with flowers, the wind having picked up a large amount of them along with Meganium.

I set aside the emptied urn and accepted Honchkrow's. Unlike with Meganium, who hated the speeches that came along with funerals, I said a few words before sending Honchkrow with the next harsh wind.

"You were a good partner and I thank you for everything you did. It's finally time to sleep."

Leon must not have missed the wistful, almost jealous, tinge to those last words because he did not join most of the team in heading back down the hill to the psychic type that waited below. Ninetales stayed behind as well, though only long enough for her to send a flamethrower out towards the Team Styx jacket that I threw out into the air. It was reduced to ashes and the final painful reminder of my past drifted down.

I looked out, following the ashes' path, and found the expanse laying below inviting.

It was something that I had been thinking about. Thinking about quite often, actually. I had achieved my purpose in life and was unable to continue working for the WPO, so what could I really do? What was I supposed to do? I had no children, nor any living family to speak of. It was annoying to admit, but I was getting too old to rejoin the work force. I knew that I needed to make sure that my team was taken care of before doing-

"Uh, Daniel? Our ride is getting impatient," Leon's hesitant voice came up and I broke out of my musings.

And then there was Leon, who I had not included in my thoughts with my team. I'm not sure why, considering that he had bonded to them quickly and stayed in close proximity to me at all times, like my team. What could I do for Leon? From what I understood, he really didn't have any place to go back to. He also didn't seem like a Pokemon that enjoyed being wild. With him having his coloration, I understood why.

I took a moment to look back down. Perhaps it was because the sun no longer lit the area below, but it no longer felt inviting.

"Daniel?"

"I'm coming." It only occurred to me later that the reason behind this was because I still had things to do.

I wasn't done yet.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

Two years after Team Phoenix was exterminated and I was enjoying college life as well as the intrigue that came with being a partial movie star. The movie, given the name _The Return of the Cursed Gift_, had done even better than the first and I actually had to escape to my human form to avoid being noticed as much. It didn't work very well, considering that every hair on my body was tinged with blue. You had to be close to notice it, thankfully.

The same went for my parents and Andrea. My mom's hair, oddly enough, stayed as fully blonde as it was before she transformed. We also learned that she could manipulate her hair to a certain extent and oftentimes wore it in a ponytail to 'make it easier to keep straight,' according to her. I hadn't asked, nor tested it out, but I had my suspicions that she still had the ability to curse people with her tail, even if it was just a ponytail.

It was a terrifying thought, honestly.

For Andrea, her own hair was tinged with blue and her pupils were also red. It wouldn't surprise me if people assumed that we were all family with how similar our looks were to one another.

I was surprised when I first saw that Andrea's hair had the tinges of blue, but my dad explained that it was the transformative aura's doing. She still had golden fur when she was a Lucario, but her hair continued to hold the brushes of blue. None of us ever found out a way to fully rid ourselves of the blue coloration, nor our red pupils.

If we had managed it, then I doubt that Daniel would have been able to recognize us when we went to visit him.

* * *

DANIEL'S POV

I was walking down the street of the city I had decided to settle down in. It wasn't a large city, but had everything I knew I would want within walking distance while not being overly crowded like cities tended to feel like.

I was returning from turning in the paperwork to purchase a building that I noticed was for sale a few days prior. Leon, as a random question, had asked me what I planned to do after retiring (not by choice) from the WPO.

My first answer was no longer an option, so I spent a few silent minutes considering what I knew how to do and what I would actually enjoy doing.

While it was stained by the memory of Gregory, there was one job that I had before being forced to join Team Styx.

"I'm going to open a bakery," I declared. Leon stared at me for a few moments longer than I thought necessary, probably wondering if I was joking or not.

I wasn't, for the record.

I had researched available properties around the city and found that the one Leon had pointed out had the specifications of what I would need. I purchased the property and filled out the needed paperwork to open a food-selling business and was on my way back home when I heard the sounds of weak crying coming from an alleyway.

My steps faltered as I turned towards the noise. There was no accompanying shushing of a mother quieting down the baby and I found myself walking into the alleyway.

"Hello?" I called out, ears listening carefully for the sound of anybody else possibly hiding. I knew that I was retired, but I had made enemies in my lifetime. This was a good ambush location, being enclosed and narrow as it was. The only weapons I had on me was my trusty pistol and a single knife, both concealed. I had left my team back at the apartment so that they could begin packing up everything in preparation of moving into the living quarters above the soon-to-be bakery.

Despite my brain telling me that this was more than likely a trap, my instincts pushed me forward until I stood next to a dumpster.

I picked the lid up, praying that what I was hearing was a thrown away doll or something like that.

When I looked in to see a baby half buried in refuge, the lid I held groaned under the pressure of my grip, anger filling my form. Even as rage rose, my arm carefully held the baby as I pulled him from the dumpster and walked out from that stinking alleyway.

* * *

JASON'S POV

"Is that it?" I asked, pulling into the small parking lot a moment after they confirmed that we were at the right place.

I checked once more that the 'batteries' that kept myself in my human form were stocked and stable before leaving the vehicle. Jacob had come up with the idea and Andrea had innovated it by figuring out how to create multiple sources to be drained before the transformation reversed. I had kept my human form for a good three weeks straight and didn't want to quit just yet.

I had a small smile as I watched the three of them walking towards the business with various goodies lining the windows. For being unable to utilize their aura for most of their lives, Andrea and Jacob were both surprisingly inventive when it came to coming up with ideas involving the energy. Luna called them both dorks when they got excited over learning something new, though her words were without heat when she said them. We could all tell that she enjoyed learning whatever they came up with, even if she tried to hide it sometimes.

Jacob had told me that the man that had been protecting them was forced to retire after getting injured in the battle against Team Phoenix. I tried to thank visit him in the hospital, but was kept busy so much that it slipped my mind by the time we were finally released.

"Luna, hang back with dad. I want to see if he actually recognizes us," Jacob told the only one of us who was a Lucario at that time. Andrea was able to keep her human form for almost the same amount of time as myself because of how naturally skilled she was with her aura. Jacob? His supply seemed limitless sometimes and he just had to concentrate a little to keep his human form.

My wife, unfortunately, did not have Jacob's supply, Andrea's natural skill, nor my years of experience. She was the one who spent the most amount of time in her Pokemon form, though she didn't mind it too much. She admitted that she preferred having the real tail rather than substituting it with her ponytail.

I would never admit it, out loud or via aura, but sometimes I was jealous of how much more attention she paid to that flexible appendage rather than me.

Hehe...that was a joke..._mostly_. Arceus I needed to get her away from Lucy before she corrupted her further.

I walked more slowly and let Jacob and Andrea, both doing a terrible job at keeping their faces clear of their grins, enter the shop ahead of Luna and myself.

"Welc-" a Riolu with an armband began to say, cutting himself off with recognition lighting his features. Jacob either quickly told him to act natural, or did some gesture to keep his silence because the Riolu's speak barely changed as he completed the greeting.

"-ome to the Limping Doughboy."

Andrea nodded politely and moved with Jacob to the counter where an older fellow sat, handing a woman a bag with a polite, "Please come again," sending them on their way before he turned his attention to my son and future daughter-in-law.

What? It was only a matter of time. I knew that those two were meant for one another.

"Good afternoon, Jacob and Andrea. What will you be having?"

I began chuckling at their reactions, their auras telling me everything I needed to know.

"H-how?" Jacob questioned with disappointment clear in his voice.

"You are forty-two years too late if you think I will forget someone if they just change species."

Silence reigned and I am certain that I was not the only one who was curious as to what happened forty-two years prior. This guy was definitely at least in his mid to late-fifties. So what exactly-

"Anyways," Andrea said, interrupting everyone's internal musings. "Leon called and told us that you recently opened this place, so we thought we would come visit. See how you are doing."

Daniel, as his name tag attested, gave the approaching Riolu a look that I couldn't quite identify. There was definitely some fond annoyance in his aura, much like when Lucy and Jacob would pull pranks on one another, but it was obvious that he tried to not openly show it on his face.

His annoyance, however, won out when the Riolu hopped up on the glass counter and sat next to where Jacob and Andrea stood.

"Geddoff of there! I've told you, already, that counter is for customer cash, _not_ Riolu rump!"

I couldn't hold back my chuckle at his, obviously lighthearted, bickering and the attention was drawn to me.

"I never got to thank you for watching my son and his friends," I said with a respectful nod to the man.

Either he recognized me or connected the dots quickly because he simply nodded back and was drawn back into the conversation with Jacob and Andrea. They had told me that Daniel wasn't one for empty talk, so I didn't mind his curt dismissal. It was pleasant, to be honest. So many people recognized me and saw only a character in the movie or that guy who managed to figure out how to transform into a Pokemon. It was nice to be treated normally.

I decided to sit and wait, as it seemed like they would be talking for awhile. I noticed a Luxray carrying a giggling child around the place. A female Houndoom rested in the corner, watching the Luxray with barely hidden fondness. Her aura felt noticeably wary, yet noticeably softened while she watched the Luxray playing.

I was about to look elsewhere, not going to be caught staring, when I felt a subtle twinge from her aura. An alien presence barely made itself known before fading once more and I noticed the small bulge in her belly.

The dots connected and I briefly wondered if the pups would be Shinx, Houndour, or a mixture of the two. Those happened, though rarely.

"You want anything, Dad?"

Jacob caught my attention and I smiled before mentioning that I had been craving the chocolate-covered pastry in the window.

Daniel had Leon slip through the door into the kitchen with our order while the rest of them joined me at the table.

I interrupted their conversation to tell them, "If you go talk to the Houndoom over there, be sure to use no aura in her vicinity. It can do very strange things to unborn babies."

They looked over to the Houndoom as one and left me to go give her congratulations.

"Don't forget, you both owe me a box of poffins, each. I _told_ you that they would get together after the mission was over," Luna said, smirking at their grimaces and ignoring the Luxray and Houndoom's indignant responses.

"I'll just set this here, Leon declared, placing a platter with several delectable goodies on the table and taking a seat with a sigh.

"Been busy?" I asked him, holding out on my treat a little longer to instead speak to the kid.

"Yes sir. We only opened up a few weeks ago and we're seeing more customers every day. How are those three doing?"

"They are doing well. Definitely better than I was when I was their age." I had a small smile at the memories of me dodging reporters, then grimaced when I thought of one who had climbed through a window to speak to me. I had to replace it when he was sent sailing out of it the opposite way via the explosive force of a half-formed aura sphere.

* * *

JACOB'S POV

Once we had given our congratulations to the canine couple, we convened with my dad back at our table and feasted upon the delicious goodness that chocolate had become to our senses.

I mean, chocolate was always good and I had already enjoyed a good chocolate bar or chocolate cake or something, but that all changed after I had first transformed.

I finally understood my father's warning to never bring the sugary goodness anywhere near Lucario because it was basically catnip. I had to resist transforming back into a Lucario so as to get the full taste sensory range.

I almost ignored the sound of a crying baby if I didn't notice both Daniel and Leon react to the sound at the same time. Curiosity piqued, I extended my senses and found that Leon was heading through a door to calm down an infant who had been quiet until that point.

"What are you-" Luna began to ask at my surprised look, but instead took a look for herself. Andrea and my dad checked and I was the one who voiced everyone's question.

"Daniel, how long have you had a kid?"

* * *

Not gonna lie, this was a hard chapter to not because I had so little time to dedicate to writing, though that was an issue. Not because I didn't know what I wanted in it. No, the reason this chapter was so difficult to write was because I knew it was the _last_. I highly encourage reviewing so I know your opinions about this ending. I can't hear those cheers echoing in your minds, so throw me a bone already!

Something that I've noticed is sorely lacking is fan art for this story. If anyone here is an artist, I would be honored to see some art of any scene in my stories. Just let me know where it is and I'll probably fanboy all over it for ages.

Anyways, yup. This is it. I've got a small idea for another story, one somewhat connected to this one. Let me know in the reviews if you would like me to be working on it!

And, without further ado, I, Talkingbirdguy, declare this the story's

**END**

**Veni Vedi Vici**


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